Tabligh-e-Jamaat’s Markaz in Nizamuddin West has emerged as an epicenter for the spread of the coronavirus in different parts of the country. In the backdrop of the Nizamuddin Markaz incident, several videos, graphics, and texts are being shared on social media. Among them, a 26 seconds long video clip is doing the rounds across social media platforms, which shows a man in a police van spitting on a cop. The viral video has garnered more than 2 lakh views and more than 10,000 shares.

The text of the viral video reads, “Those who wanted proof. See this. They were spitting yesterday also and today again”.

We found that several users shared the viral video on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Several readers sent the viral video to Newschecker’s WhatsApp helpline number for verification.

Fact Check

As we began fact-checking the claim, we found several social media users calling out the viral video as fake. One of the users commented and said, “This video is from Thane, Maharashtra, and has no connection with the novel coronavirus.”. We also found that none of the police officials were wearing protective masks, and neither any of the police personnel was following social distancing.  

With the help of relevant keywords, we performed Google search and found a video on YouTube uploaded by ‘The Times of India’ on March 2, 2020. We analyzed the viral video, and the video uploaded on YouTube, frame to frame and established that it is the same video viral on social media.

According to the report, an undertrial allegedly attacked and spat on a few members of the Mumbai police escort party. Undertrial identified as Mohammad Sohal Shaukat Ali. He was upset with police officers for not allowing him to have home-cooked food brought by his family during the hearing of his case.

Notably, during our search, we found several media reports including, MSN and Mumbai Mirror published on February 29,2020, and March 2, 2020, respectively. According to these reports also, a 26-year-old undertrial allegedly attacked a few policemen for not allowing him to have home-cooked food brought by his family.

Thane police beat accused who spat on them – Video | Mumbai Mirror

A 26-year-old undertrial allegedly attacked a few members of the police escort party after they did not allow him to have home-cooked food brought by his family members at a court

Watch: Scuffle breaks out inside police van after undertrial attack and spits on cops

An undertrial allegedly attacked and spit on a few members of the Mumbai police escort party on Saturday. Video of the incident has gone viral on social media that shows him arguing with some policemen, abusing them and then finally spitting on one which lead to the scuffle.

Conclusion

It is clear from our fact check that the video viral on social media in the backdrop of the Nizamuddin Markaz incident is misleading. The video has no connection with the ongoing novel Coronavirus Pandemic.

Tools Used

• Google Search
• YouTube Search
• Media Reports

Result: Misleading

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