By Shrey Banerjee
A video from Chennai of a cow attacking a schoolgirl in uniform is viral with a false claim that it is from Haryana’s Faridabad. The video, which is a CCTV footage, shows a girl being viciously attacked by a cow in a narrow lane.
BOOM found that this video is from a recent incident on August 9, 2023 when the young girl walking with her brother and mother was attacked by a cow in in Chennai’s Madras Metropolitan Development Authority (MMDA) Colony. The cow can be seen tossing the girl and then repeatedly attacking her while bystanders tried to get her away from the its grasp.
The caption of the video, in Hindi, reads,"फरीदाबाद के गांव सैतपुरा में स्कूल जा रही छात्र को गाय ने बुरी तरह रौंदा.......सारी घटना सामने घर में लगे सीसीटीवी कैमरे में हुई कैद......सींगों से पटकने के बाद भी काफी देर तक गाय बच्ची पर करती रही प्रहार........ग्रामीणों की तत्परता से बची बच्ची की जान......... (A girl student going to school in Saitpura village of Faridabad was badly trampled by a cow. The whole incident was captured in the CCTV camera installed in front of the house. Even after being hit with its horns, the cow continued to attack the girl for a long time. The child's life was saved by the readiness of the villagers”)
The video can be viewed from the link here.
The archive of the video can be seen here.
Fact Check
BOOM ran a reverse search based on the incident using keyword like “School student”, “cow attack” and “CCTV footage” and found multiple news reports that contained screengrabs from the video.
We found an article published in the Times of India that featured an image from the viral video. According to the report, the incident took place in Chennai’s MMDA Colony near Arumbakkam when the girl identified as a Ayesha was returning home from school.
According to the report, the state Health Minister MA Subramanian also visited the girl in the hospital and enquired upon her condition.
We also found a report in the Indian Express which said the owner of the cow was booked following the incident. The article also quoted Chennai Corporation Commissioner J Radhakrishnan, saying stringent measures will be taken control the menace of stray cattle.
BOOM also found a tweet by the verified handle of the Greater Chennai Corporation, mentioning that the cattle with the calf that attacked a child has been impounded and was tested for diseases.
