No, a police official was not crushed by a tractor during the ongoing farmers' protest in India

(Trigger warning: The report contains descriptions of disturbing visuals; viewer discretion is advised.)

What is the claim?

A video of a man getting crushed under the wheels of a tractor's trolley is being linked to the ongoing farmers' protest in India online. Several social media users have insinuated that the protesting farmers, labeled as 'Khalistani terrorists' by some, ran a tractor over an officer of the Haryana Police. Some users even claimed that the incident was 'pre-planned.' Archived versions of posts sharing the video with such claims can be viewed here, here, here, and here. 

The claim surfaced within days of the Haryana Police using tear gas and water cannons to stop the protesting farmers from breaching the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border on February 13.

Screenshots of the viral posts.(Source: X/ Screenshot/ Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the viral video is unrelated to the current farmers' protest. The video is from August 2023, when a man died after getting crushed under a truck in Punjab's Sangrur district during a clash between farmers and the police.

What is the truth?

After closely analyzing the viral video, we found a watermark of the X account '@Gagan4344' on its top left-hand corner. We found that the same video was posted on the account, which belongs to one Gagandeep Singh, on August 21, 2023. According to his bio, Singh is a journalist. (Disclaimer: The video below contains disturbing visuals.) 

The accompanying caption read: "A clash between farmers and the Punjab Police occurred in Sangrur's village Longowal as they were heading towards Chandigarh to participate in a protest. During the clash, one farmer lost his leg as he came under a tractor trolley tire & he lost his life during treatment. While one policeman got severely injured." 

A Google search led us to several news reports by outlets, such as Navbharat Times, PTC Punjab, The Tribune, and The Indian Express, on the incident that took place in August 2023.

According to a PTC Punjab report, published on August 21, 2023, farmers were marching toward Chandigarh to participate in a protest organized by several farmers' unions to get compensation for the crops destroyed by floods. As the farmers proceeded for Chandigarh, clashes erupted between the farmers and the Punjab Police in Longowal village in Sangrur district, leading to a stampede-like situation. Amid all this chaos, a 70-year-old man named Pritam Singh got stuck under a tractor. He later succumbed to severe injuries on his legs. 

PTC News report includes visuals from the viral video. (Source: PTC Punjab/ Screenshot)

The report further stated that the protesting farmers were moving towards Barbar Toll Plaza and Barnala Sangrur National Highway, intending to block it. The police personnel stopped the protestors from moving forward. However, when the protesters broke the barricades and continued to move forward with their tractor-trailers, the police used force.

Amid all this commotion, Singh got trapped under the wheels of a tractor-trailer, due to which he got severely injured. He was subsequently taken to Rajinder Hospital in Patiala, where he succumbed to his injuries.

The report quoted Sangrur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Surendra Lamba as saying that the incident occurred during a protest organized by Bharatiya Kisan Union Azad in Longowal.

During our investigation, we also found that a video, captured from a different angle but showing the same visuals as the viral clip, was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by the Sangrur Police on August 21, 2023. Here, the police said that it had been established through witnesses and video that the tractor-trolley driven by the protesters had crushed the deceased. A police inspector was also seriously injured during the incident who "narrowly escaped from getting crushed." (Disclaimer: The video below contains disturbing visuals. ) 

The verdict

The viral video is from an incident in the Sangrur district of Punjab from August 2023, where, during a clash between farmers and the police, a man named Pritam Singh died from the injuries he received after getting crushed by a tractor. Singh was not a police officer. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.

(Translated by Azra Ali)