Recycled Visuals Misrepresented as Footage from Rajasthan Sexual Assault Case

Amid widespread public outrage over the Sri Ganganagar sexual assault case in Rajasthan, old and unrelated videos were falsely recirculated as footage of the accused and the victim. Our analysis traces the origin of these viral visuals and reveals how they were misleadingly linked to the Rajasthan case.

The alleged sexual assault of a thirteen-year-old girl in Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan between June 18 and 23 has triggered widespread outrage across the country, with demands for swift justice and strict action against those responsible. As the investigation continues, the case has become the subject of intense discussion on social media, where users have been sharing videos claiming to show the accused being publicly paraded and beaten by the police, while others have circulated visuals alleging to show the victim receiving treatment in hospital.

However, our analysis found that these viral videos predate the incident and are unrelated to the Rajasthan case.

The viral visuals and the facts behind them

On July 7, X account @thetatvaindia shared two videos with the caption claiming that the footage shows the thirty-two individuals accused of the rape of a thirteen-year-old girl in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan.

As of July 8, the post garnered 12,00,000 views, 22,000 likes and 3,100 reposts.

Several users appeared to believe the claim. One user replied, “Can we kill such bastards?” while another user stated, “The crime is horrific, but justice must be served through the due process of law. The guilty should receive the severest legal punishment, ensuring that no one even contemplates committing such a heinous crime in the future. Hang them immediately.”

An X account linked to the New Delhi-based NGO NCM India Council for Men Affairs reacted to the video, suggesting that it supposedly depicts an incident from March 2026 in Gujarat, where Gujarat Police allegedly paraded and assaulted a group of individuals after they were accused of chasing police personnel.

We analysed the keyframes of the viral video and identified that the same visuals had also been shared by News 18 Gujarati and News 18 India on March 19 and 18, respectively.

Another X user also shared a different visual on July 7. The Hindi caption of the post translates to, “This is that pig of an auto driver, who sold off that innocent thirteen-year-old girl to the hotel owners out of greed for a few bucks, and that innocent was mauled not once, not twice, but by a full 32 wolves for five whole days.” The video features an individual being beaten by the police using a baton.

As of July 8, the post received more than 3,43,100 views, 6,600 likes, and 2,000 reposts.

Believing the video to be true, the replies were filled with users congratulating the police. Several users urged authorities to hang the accused. However, a remark stood out, stating that under the Bharatiya Janata Party’s rule, the police were allegedly behaving like thugs.

A reverse image search on the keyframes led us to a Facebook post shared by Pune Mirror on June 12, which carried the same video.

According to the post, the incident occurred in Kalyan East, Maharashtra, and the video features DCP Atul Zhende severely beating the accused to curb the growing hooliganism in the area.

No, the video does not show the victim.

On July 4, X account @Incognito_qfs shared two videos. The caption claims that the video shows the thirteen-year-old victim of the Sri Ganganagar sexual assault after she was rushed to the hospital. The video shows a young girl sobbing on a hospital bed.

As of July 8, the post garnered 18,00,000 views, 26,000 likes and 9,400 reposts.

Responding to the post, a user replied, “Indian laws became a joke. At least one rape case on a daily basis, but no death sentence or any severe punishment. So the criminals know how to bend the laws and escape. If our government didn’t pass some severe law for these types of crimes, it isn’t going to stop.” Another user alleged that these incidents are a direct consequence of OTT platforms showing vulgar and obscene content.

On the same day, Rajasthan Police, through their official X account, rejected the visuals and clarified that the video is unrelated.

Furthermore, we found a Dainik Bhaskar report published on June 30, which carries similar visuals. According to the report, an eleven-year-old Dalit girl was reportedly victimised by gang rape in the Bilgram region of Hardoi district in Uttar Pradesh.

Our analysis found that the viral visuals do not depict the accused or the victim in the Sri Ganganagar sexual assault case. While one video showing individuals being paraded by the police traces back to an incident in Gujarat from March 2026, another video of a man being beaten by police is linked to an unrelated law enforcement action in Maharashtra from June 2026. Similarly, the hospital footage being circulated as that of the thirteen-year-old victim actually predates the Rajasthan case and is connected to a separate incident in Uttar Pradesh. Therefore, these visuals are misleading.

According to recent reports, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognisance of the Sri Ganganagar case and directed authorities to complete the investigation in a time-bound manner. During a hearing held on July 8, the Commission instructed the police to expedite the arrest of the remaining accused, file the chargesheet within the prescribed timeline, and ensure a speedy trial.