Echoing the aftermath of the 2021 Assembly elections in West Bengal, post-poll violence has been reported across the state, which has killed at least three people so far.
A video now going viral purportedly shows a woman using a fake bandage and then getting exposed live on camera. Many shared the clip, in which a woman can be seen talking to the press when someone snatches the bandage on her head to expose her fake injury, leading to a clash.
Many claimed that this was a “TMC worker with a fake bandage on her head exposed on live TV”.
News outlets like News18 Malayalam, Janmabhumi, Times Now, The Times of India, and The Economic Times shared the video claiming it showed a Trinamool Congress worker caught on camera faking an injury.
India Today Fact Check found that the video is neither from West Bengal nor is it related to the post-poll violence. It is from Bihar.
OUR PROBE
A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral clip led to the same video uploaded to a YouTube channel named Maurya Dhwaj Express. Shared on May 6, the video’s voice-over stated that this clip was being circulated with misleading claims to spread misinformation.
According to the channel, the video was old and was filmed at the Shree Krishna Medical College and Hospital in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur. The voice-over noted that the incident showed a clash between hospital trolley workers and a group of patients.
To verify the location, we ran a keyword search and found videos from 2025 shot outside the Muzaffarpur hospital. A comparison of the surroundings confirmed that the viral clip is indeed from Bihar.
We also spoke to Bramhadev Kushwaha, the editor of Maurya Dhwaj Express, who said the video was about a week old. He also said that one of his reporters, Prem Shankar, had captured the incident.
When we reached out to Prem Shankar, he confirmed that he had recorded the viral clip on April 28 at the Shree Krishna Medical College and Hospital in Muzaffarpur. He said that a clash had taken place between patients and trolleymen there. One of the staff members accused some patients of beating her. Seeing this, the patient’s side immediately confronted her, and the fake injury was exposed.
Prem had also shared this video on his personal Facebook profile on May 4, the day of the West Bengal poll results, captioning it: “The things media people have to see these days. Although action was taken against everyone.”
Prem Shankar also shared a screenshot of the original video from his phone’s media gallery with India Today Fact Check, where the recording date of April 28 is clearly visible.
Subsequent searches also led us to reports published in Live Hindustan and First Bihar on April 29. According to these reports, the clash took place outside the emergency ward of Shree Krishna Medical College and Hospital, following which the hospital superintendent directed security staff to remove all trolley workers stationed in the area.
Therefore, it is clear that an old video from Bihar was falsely shared as a TMC worker faking injury amid post-poll violence in West Bengal.
– Ends
