Sensational videos easily go viral on social media and in WhatsApp groups, regardless of the context that is shared along with it. Most often, videos and photos of graphic violence are shared in wrong context, but there's little that recipients do to verify if the "forwarded" message is legit or in the right context. As it gets forwarded, there's no end. Unless, there's a barrier of truth and facts. That said, a viral video of a man being brutally killed by three men who smashed his head is making the rounds on IM groups with misleading context.
The claim
A graphic video shows three men brutally smashing a man's head as he helpless lay on the road. The passing traffic doesn't seem to bother the attackers as the inhumane attack on the man continues.
The violent video is being shared on WhatsApp groups without graphic warning. What's worse, the context related to the video says the incident took place under Bengaluru's Electronic City flyover, which is an iconic landmark in south of the city.
Fact check
International Business Times reviewed the viral forward message and found its accompanying context to be misleading. The incident did take place, but it wasn't anywhere in Bengaluru, let along Electronic City flyover.
Karnataka State Police Fact Check team also issued a detailed clarification as to why the video showing the man being brutally murdered on the road isn't from Bengaluru. Taking note of a few things, the police department was able to debunk the false context and give a clear background about the video.
Looking closely at some screen grabs from the video, the vehicle registration numbers do not carry a KA plate. The pillars of the flyover are also different in height and width as compared to the Electronic City flyover. What's most evident is that the Electronic City has two flyovers - one for vehicles and the other for metro running parallel, which cannot be seen in the video. Finally, the pillars of the Electronic City flyover have ivory art and steel grills.
The video is of an incident that took place in Rajendranagar police station limits of Cyberabad Metropolitan police, Telangana on 11 Jan 2021, multiple news reports can confirm. The accused have since been arrested on the charges of murder. The Cyberabad Police confirmed the incident had taken place on the main road near Pillar number 248 in Rajendranagar. The attackers are identified Shaik Rasheed (29), Mohammed Azmath (28) and Syed Imran (27). and the victim was 33-year-old Mohammed Khaleel.
Based on these facts, International Business Times has arrived at the conclusion that the incident took place in Telangana and not in Bengaluru.
