Fact Check: Video showing a man cutting off his finger is not from Karnataka but Maharashtra
A video of a person publicly cutting off his thumb from his hand is going viral on social media with a Telugu narrative that his biggest mistake was voting for the Congress. So, he is cutting off his finger that has been used to vote.
Person cutting off the finger
A video of a person publicly cutting off his thumb from his hand is going viral on social media with a Telugu narrative that his biggest mistake was voting for the Congress. So, he is cutting off his finger that has been used to vote.
The claim shared on Facebook goes: “కర్నాటకలో హిందువులపై జరుగుతున్న అఘాయిత్యాలకు చూసి కుపితుడయ్యాడు. కర్ణాటక వాసి అయిన ఇతను ఏం చేశాడు మీరే చూడండి! విడియో చూస్తే మీకూ వణుకు పుడుతుంది. బీజేపీని కాదని ఉచితాలకు ఆశపడి *"కాంగ్రెస్‌కి" బుద్ధితక్కువగా ఓటు వేయడం* నా జీవితంలో చేసిన అతిపెద్ద తప్పు.. అందుకే కర్నాటక ఎన్నికల్లో *"కాంగ్రెస్‌కి"* ఏ వేలితో అయితే ఓటేశానో, అదే వేలును ఇప్పుడు మేముందే నరికేసుకుంటున్నాను అని చెప్పి వీడియో తీస్తూ మరీ వేలిని నరికేసుకున్నాడు!
చేతులు కాలాక ఆకులు పట్టుకోవడం అంటే ఇలాంటిదే... *"అడుసు త్రొక్కనేల, కాలు కడగానేల"* అని పెద్దలు ముందుగానే ఒక నానుడి ద్వారా హెచ్చరించారు... ఈ దుస్థితి తెలుగు రాష్ట్రాలలో ఉన్న ఓటర్లకు రానే కూడదు. అందుకే ముందుగానే చెప్తున్నాము, జాగ్రత్త పడండి.. అడ్వాన్సుగానే చెప్తున్నాము...హిందుత్వాన్ని రక్షించే బీజేపీ మాత్రమే మిమ్మల్ని కాపాడ గలదు...ఇది నిజం”
When translated to English, it claims: “The person seen in the video was enraged by the atrocities being committed against Hindus in Karnataka. See for yourself what this man from Karnataka has done! Watching the video will give you shivers. Lured by the freebies promised by Congress, I voted for the party and this is the biggest mistake I made in my life. For the same reason, I am cutting off the same finger with which I cast a vote to the Congress, in front of you. This is like a damage control measure. Such a situation should not occur with the voters in Telugu states. That's why we are telling you in advance, to be careful. We are telling you in advance...only BJP which protects Hindutva can save you and this is true.”
Fact Check:
The claim is Misleading. The video shows a man from Maharashtra, who amputated his finger in protest against police inaction, in connection with his brother and sister-in-law suicide case.
When observed carefully, we can hear that the person in the video is talking in Marathi, which is native to Maharashtra, but not in Kannada.
When we searched the key frames extracted from the video using Google reverse image search, we found that this incident took place in Phaltan in Satara district of Maharashtra.
According to the report published by India Today on August 19, 2023, the man seen in the video is Dhananjay Nanavare (43 years). He alleged that the police were not taking any action against the culprits who drove his brother and sister-in-law to die by suicide. He also threatened that if the government did not take any action, he would chop off one of his body parts every week.
He was later taken into custody by the police and was rushed to the hospital.
According to Hindustan Times, Dhananjay explained that his brother and his wife were driven to end their life following harassment by some people. The suicide note also mentioned a few names of the people who were allegedly harassing them for money. As the probe into the case has not progressed for many days, Dhananjay wanted the investigative agencies to act fast and if they failed, he threatened to send one body part of his every week to the deputy CM.
This claim was debunked by several fact-checking organizations in September during the Tamil Nadu elections.
Hence, the claim is Misleading. The video does not show a Karnataka man chopping off his finger as part of self-punishment for voting to the Congress.