Fact-Check: Was the Victim in MP Urination Case Not Dashmat Rawat?

Authorities in Sidhi and locals clarified that the victim in the urination case was identified as Dashmat Rawat.

Fact-Check | The video of Dashmat Rawat is being shared on the internet with a misleading context.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video of Dashmat Rawat, the tribal individual involved in the urination case that happened in Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi district, is going viral on the internet.

What do the claims say: MP Congress shared the video on their Twitter handle with a caption that said, "Big disclosure in Sidhi urination case, Shivraj did the drama of washing someone else's feet, is the real victim missing? Shivraj ji, such a big conspiracy? Madhya Pradesh will not forgive you.

You can view an archive of this tweet here.

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

What is there in the video?: In the video, Rawat says, "Even when the public was talking about the viral video, I did not believe it was me in it. I did not accept it was my video in the police station and I also told the collector that it was not my video. Pravesh Shukla implicated himself."

(Archives of similar posts can be found here, here, and here.)

Are these claims true?: No, the video is clipped and is being shared with a misleading context.

• While speaking to The Quint, Rawat revealed that he did not accept that it was him in the video initially because he was drunk and didn't remember the incident.

• Rawat's wife Asha confirmed that it was her husband that can be seen in the viral clip.

• Superintendent of Police (SP) and the district collector of Sidhi clarified on their respective Twitter handles that the victim was Rawat. Both of them also refuted the viral claim.

How did we find out?: We noticed Zee News' logo on the viral video and performed a keyword search on YouTube. It led us to a longer version of the video uploaded on the official channel of Zee News Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh.

• Rawat mentioned that the incident happened in 2020 and it was around 10-10:30 in the night.

• He said that he was sitting outside a shop when Shukla came and urinated on him while smoking.

• He added that he did not believe it was him in the video and told the police personnel and district collector the same.

• Rawat said that Shukla implicated himself. He further said that when the accused has only accepted urinating on me, then I also accepted it was me in the viral video.

• He also accepted that he was in an inebriated state when the incident happened.

What did the victim say?: The Quint's reporter Vishnukant Tiwari spoke with Rawat about the incident.

• Rawat said he was sitting outside one Deendayal Sahu's shop at the time of the incident. Rawat said, "He [Pravesh Shukla] came and urinated on me. I didn't even see his face at that time. I didn't tell anyone about the incident."

• Rawat initially refused to accept that it was him in the video as he was drunk and couldn't remember about the incident. However, Shukla himself accepted peeing on the victim in the police station.

• Rawat's wife Asha could also be seen identifying the victim seen in the viral as her husband.

• She said, "After watching the clip, I thought, what is happening to my husband? He is a common man who makes around Rs 100-200 daily. He never says no to anyone for work and has no enemies."

What did the locals say?: While speaking to The Quint, a resident of the village named Deendayal Sahu said that the video was recorded by him in 2020 during the first pandemic. He added that both the victim and accused were in inebriated state.

• According to our reporter, the video was made viral due to internal dispute with the accused.

Statement from the police: Sidhi SP Dr Ravindra Verma took to Twitter and said, "In the viral video case, some news channels are running this misleading news that the person seen in the video is not Dashmat Rawat. However, the police investigation has confirmed that the person seen in the video is Dashmat Rawat."

District collector clarifies: District collector Saket Malviya refuted the viral claim and said that the victim was identified as Dashmat Rawat.

What was the incident about?: Recently, a video went viral where Pravesh Shukla, an alleged aide of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kedarnath Shukla, was seen urinating on a tribal man named Dashmat Rawat.

• Pravesh Shukla was arrested and booked under National Security Act (NSA) and several provisions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

• MP CM Shivraj Shivraj Singh Chouhan apologised to the victim and was seen washing his feet.

Conclusion: A video is being shared on social media platforms to falsely claim that the victim of the urination case that happened in Madhya Pradesh was not Dashmat Rawat.

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