Claim: PML-N leader from Jhang, Mehar Afzal Bharwana was tortured and stripped naked by the public after he went to the neighbourhood to ask for votes as a part of his election campaign.
Fact: Bharwana from Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) was beaten up and stripped naked by people he had a land dispute with, according to the local Kotwali police station.
On 18 November 2023, a video went viral on social media claiming that PML-N leader Mehar Afzal Bharwana was beaten up by the public in response to his door-to-door election campaign in Jhang.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check accessed the list of police stations in Jhang on the official Punjab police website and found that the incident is under investigation at the Kotwali police station.
According to the Kotwali police station, the video shows an incident where former Union Council chairman, Mehar Afzal Bharwana was attacked and subjected to torture near the Faisalabad railway gate by six armed men who arrived on two motorcycles. These men also tore off his clothes, as it can be seen in the video.
Additionally, the police recorded Afzal as saying that the assailants took one and a half lac rupees in cash and all his bank cards with them.
Most importantly, the police confirmed to us that this attack was organised to intimidate and threaten Afzal over his land dispute with the attackers. We also found an article by The News as well as this tweet by investigative journalist, Fakhar Durrani which corroborates the information shared by the police.
Virality
On Facebook we found this claim shared here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: PML-N leader, Mehar Afzal Bharwana was not beaten up by the public after asking for votes.
Background image in cover photo: Facebook
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