The video clip of a crowd barging into a building has been shared by people on social media with a false claim that it shows people storming into a polling booth in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar during the fourth phase of voting.
The viral claim comes after at least four people died as central forces opened fire after coming under attack in Sitalkuchi in the Cooch Behar district.
The video is viral in the backdrop of the poll violence in the fourth phase of voting in Cooch Behar on April 10. Two separate incidents killed five people in Cooch Behar’s Sitalkuchi. According to reports four people died after CISF firing at poll booth number 126 in Sitalkuchi. One person was killed in a separate incident at poll booth number 285 in Sitalkuchi. Following the deaths, several claims and counter claims have emerged about who initiated the attack first. The TMC has also approached the Election Commission of India asking a probe and action against the CISF personnel who opened fire at Sitalkuchi poll booth no 126. The viral video shows a polling booth disrupted by a mob, moments later they are disbursed by security officials who were deployed inside the polling booth.
The caption along with the viral video says, “Mamata Banerjee’s supporters mob storming a polling booth in Coochbihar, West Bengal. EXCELLENT job done by the CRPF in pushing away the goons #WestBengalPolls”. Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the claim along with the video to be misleading. The incident took place at Kiyamgei High Madrassa polling station in Imphal East district of Manipur during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The same video was carried in a 2019 report by NDTV. According to the report, violence erupted during the 2019 general election at Kiyamgei High Madrassa polling centre in Manipur’s Imphal East district. T he incident was also reported by Firstpost, The New Indian Express and Imphal Times.
According to these reports, on April 18, 2019, a large number of voters ransacked the polling station over the alleged misconduct of the presiding officer. Following this, security personnel deployed at the voting centre fired tear gas and resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd.
While the presiding officer, micro observer and at least four civilians were reported injured in the incident, no life was lost. On the other hand, four people were killed in the Sitalkuchi violence on April 10, 2021
Evidently, a video clip from the 2019 general elections was shared with a false claim that it shows the violence that took place in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar during the fourth phase of the ongoing Assembly elections.
