fact check
In the era of social media, many fake news and videos go viral every day. Common people easily believe these fake news and pass them on. To warn you against these fake news, we bring you a fact check. The latest case of fake news is related to the video that went viral in the name of Sambhal violence. A video showing police lathi-attacking a crowd of people is being widely shared on social media. Users are sharing this video linking it to the recent violence near Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh.
PTI Fact Check Desk investigated and found the viral claim to be false. Investigation revealed that the original video was from the anti-CAA protest in Gorakhpur in December 2019. At that time, to control the situation and disperse the angry crowd, the police had charged at the protesters. Users are sharing the video of a recent incident from five years ago.
What is going viral?
On November 24, a user of social media platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) shared a video and wrote: “Police attacked terrorists in Sambhal. It seems the terrorists thought that police only acted in films, but here the real life “Dhobi Pachaad” was shown. Now you will understand the effect of this “stick” of law.” See post link, file link and screenshot here.
fact check
Sharing the same video, another user wrote, “Watch the brutality of UP police in Sambhal in this video. The protesters did not throw stones at anyone or commit any acts of violence. No stick, weapon, brick or stone was seen in anyone’s hand. Despite this, the police attacked. Violence didn’t happen like that! Has violence been carried out?” See post link, file link and screenshot here.
fact check
investigation
By doing a reverse search on the ‘keyframes’ of the viral video, we found this video on journalist Suresh Chavhanke’s Facebook page. While sharing the video on January 22, 2020, he wrote, “For instant relief from chronic back pain, lower back pain and leg pain, visit famous Vaidya Yogi Adityanath ji at #NRC protest rally in Uttar Pradesh”. One thing is clear from this post: the viral video has no connection with the recent incident in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh. See the link and screenshot of the post here.
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During investigation, we also found this video in the account of a user ‘X’ named Mohammad Asif Khan. While sharing this video on December 31, 2019, he wrote, “This video is from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh police are using brute force against unarmed anti-CAA protesters.” See the publication by clicking here.
fact check
According to the information provided in post ‘X’, the desk performed a Google search. During this time, we came across a video report uploaded on the YouTube channel of ‘Live Hindustan’ on December 20, 2019. According to the information provided in the video description, a stone-pelting incident took place at Nakhas Chowk during the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act. After which the police used tear gas to control the protesters.
It was said that after Friday prayers, people coming out of Jama Masjid located in Ghantaghar were protesting by tying black bands on their hands. The crowd had just reached Nakhas Chowk when someone ruined the atmosphere by pelting stones at them. The crowd from both sides pelted stones on Nakhas Khunipur Road and Nakhas Reti Road. To control the situation and disperse the angry crowd, the police also resorted to lathi charge. Watch the full video here.
fact check
According to the report published on the ETV Bharat website on December 20, 2019, there was a protest against CAA in Gorakhpur. During the demonstration, the crowd created a ruckus and threw stones. At that point the police had to resort to lathicharge to control the situation. Read the full report here.
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There are many similarities between the viral video and the video shown in the news report, making it clear that this video is not about the recent violence in Sambhal. To confirm this, the desk searched the place mentioned in the media report with the help of Google Street View and found that this place is Nakhas Chowk of Gorakhpur. See screenshots of these photo comparisons here.
fact check
The violence took place during polling on Sunday (November 24) at Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh. A large crowd gathered near the mosque, chanting and throwing stones at security personnel. They also set vehicles on fire. According to authorities, four people were killed in the violence and dozens, including security personnel, were injured. Read the full report here.
From our investigation so far, it is clear that the viral video is lathi-charged during the anti-CAA protest in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, in December 2019. This video has no connection with the recent violence in Sambhal. The claim that is going viral on social media is false.
Say
“Watch the brutality of UP police in Sambhal in this video. The protesters did not throw stones at anyone or commit any acts of violence. No stick, weapon, brick or stone was seen in anyone’s hand. Despite this, the police attacked. Violence didn’t happen like that! Has violence been carried out?”
made
PTI Fact Check Desk investigated and proved the viral claim to be false.
conclusion
The claim made on social media linking the viral video to recent violence is completely false. This video shows a lathi charge by police during the 2019 CAA protests in Gorakhpur. This has nothing to do with violence.
