Viral video of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar being 'slapped in public' is not recent

What’s the claim?

A video purportedly depicting Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar being slapped from behind is circulating widely on social media. In the footage, Kumar is seen approaching a statue to offer floral tributes. As he ascends the stairs, a man in a gray T-shirt and dark trousers rushes from behind, breaches security, and slaps Kumar on the shoulder while he bows to place a garland. 

Many social media users have claimed that this incident occurred because Kumar allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and that it is a recent event.

An X (formerly Twitter) user shared the clip with a Hindi caption that translates to: “Nitish Babu got rewarded for aligning with RSS, BJP! Now tell me, is there any respect left?” At the time of this writing, this post had garnered over 166,000 views. An archived version of another such post can be found here.

Screenshot of claims made online. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, our investigation reveals that the video is at least two years old.

What we found

A reverse image search led us to a YouTube video (archived here) published by CNN-News18 on March 22, 2022. This video features the same footage as the viral clip and reports that the incident took place in Bakhtiyarpur, Patna district, where Kumar was paying floral tributes to a statue of a local freedom fighter when he was slapped.

Further investigation uncovered several mainstream media reports from March 2022 confirming the incident. According to the Indian Express, the attacker, identified as Shanker Verma (also known as Chhotu), was differently abled. Patna Superintendent of Police (SSP) MS Dhillon confirmed this information.

This evidence confirms that the viral video is not recent and is unrelated to Kumar's political alignment with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

It is important to note that Kumar has a history of political shifts. In 2022, he was allied with the BJP as part of the NDA in Bihar. However, in August 2022, Kumar severed ties with the BJP and joined the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) and UPA to form a new coalition government in Bihar. In January 2024, prior to the general elections, Kumar rejoined the NDA.

The verdict

An old video from 2022 is being shared with the false claim that it depicts Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar being assaulted publicly after joining the NDA alliance, following the 2024 general elections.