Fact Check: Old clip from Tripura passed off as Bengal Hindu cattle sellers' protest

The newly elected BJP government in West Bengal recently issued guidelines that mandate that a veterinarian assess the age and physical condition of cattle before slaughter. Following this, several Muslim clerics, including the Imam of Kolkata's Nakhoda Mosque, Mohammad Shafiq Qasmi, urged Muslims to follow cattle slaughter laws and avoid cow sacrifice on Eid al-Adha to maintain communal harmony.

A video now going viral on social media shows police and security forces in riot gear, lathi-charging protesters. Allegedly, these people were Hindu cattle sellers, protesting against the BJP government following the beef boycott by Muslims in West Bengal.

India Today Fact Check found that this video from April shows a protest by Tipra Motha supporters after clashes with their BJP counterparts ahead of the zilla parishad elections in Tripura.

OUR PROBE

A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral clip led us to the same video in a Facebook post dated April 2, confirming that the video predates the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls – and the recent guidelines regarding cattle slaughter in the state. According to the post, the incident occurred in Tripura's Kamalpur, where Tipra Motha workers vandalised the cars of BJP MLAs and then chased the police.

Subsequent keyword searches led us to multiple Tripura-based news reports about the incident, including from Headlines Tripura. The reports included a video of the same incident, shot from a different angle.

According to those reports, on April 1, BJP MLA Manoj Kanti Deb and party candidate Ananta Deb Barma were campaigning in West Lambuchhara ADC Village for the District Council election in the 9-Halhali-Asharambari constituency of Kamalpur. During the visit, Tipra Motha party supporters disrupted the campaign, triggering a clash between workers of both parties. When police responded, Tipra Motha workers allegedly assaulted officers, leaving several personnel injured.

While it is true that the sudden drop in sales because of the new West Bengal guidelines has caused an economic crisis for Hindu cattle traders and farmers who rely on the festival for income, this video is unrelated to that issue.