2018 video of Uttar Pradesh woman being physically assaulted given communal spin

(Trigger Warning: This story contains descriptions of physical violence. Reader discretion is advised. Logically Facts has refrained from including direct links to the video.)

What is the claim?

A video showing a man violently beating a woman tied to a tree with a belt, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers, has circulated widely online. Those sharing the video claim it depicts a 'rape survivor' being punished under Sharia law (Islam's legal system).

On X (formerly Twitter), a user shared the video (archived here), stating, "Under Sharia law, if a woman is raped, it’s considered sex outside of marriage, and she is to be punished. In most Sharia countries, women are stoned to death if they report being raped. So the one in the video got ‘lucky’ for only being flogged." 

This post has garnered over 5.6 million views, 40,000 likes, and 18,000 reposts. Archived versions of similar claims can be found here and here.

Screenshots of social media posts sharing the viral video. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, our investigation revealed that the video dates back to March 2018 and shows an incident in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It does not depict a woman being punished for being raped.

What did we find? 

A reverse image search on keyframes led us to several media reports from March 2018 featuring visuals of the viral video.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, the incident occurred on March 10, 2018, in Launga village, Bulandshahr district. The clip reportedly shows a woman being physically assaulted by her husband, identified as Shaudan Singh, in public for allegedly eloping. The assualt allegedly occurred on the orders of the gram panchayat (village council).

Three individuals were arrested in connection with the case at the time. Quoting Bulandshahr Superintendent of Police (SP) Praveen Ranjan Singh, the report stated, “Former pradhan Shersingh, his son Shravan and woman’s husband Shaudan Singh have been arrested and raids are underway to arrest other accused.”

A report by NavBharat Times on March 23, 2018, included a statement from Singh, who said, "This incident happened many days ago. As soon as we received the video, we summoned the victim. An FIR has been lodged under several sections. Complaints have been filed against the ex-chief of the panchayat, her husband, and six others."

According to The Times of India, the woman stated in her complaint, "I had gone with our neighbor, but after five days, a few villagers brought us back into the village on March 10, and from 7 in the morning until 2 p.m., my hands were tied to a tree, and in full public view, I was thrashed by my husband Shaudan Singh for hours with a belt and sticks."

We found an X post from March 2018 by Uttar Pradesh-based journalist Piyush Rai, which included the video and stated that it showed a woman in Bulandshahr who was tied to a tree and assaulted by her husband after being accused of infidelity, sentenced to torture by a local panchayat.

Logically Facts contacted Bulandshahr Additional Superintendent of Police Rijul, who confirmed that the incident occurred in 2018 in Launga village under Syana police station, Bulandshahr district.

An X post (archived here) by the Bulandshahr Police from March 23, 2018, indicated that a case had been registered in connection with the incident. The police arrested three suspects, including the woman's husband, and sent them to jail.

We also obtained a copy of the FIR filed in this case, which confirms the incident and names Sher Singh Pradhan, Shravan, Radheshyam, Naresh, Nanhe, Jitendra alias Jeetu, Veerpal, Harkesh, Ramesh Chand, Hansraj, and 10-15 unnamed individuals as the accused.

The verdict

The viral video shows a Hindu man physically assaulted his wife in Uttar Pradesh over an alleged extramarital affair. The incident took place in March 2018 and has nothing to do with Sharia or Islamic law, nor does it depict a man beating up his wife for reporting rape, as claimed by social media users.