Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
CCTV footage shows Muslim woman removing her burqa to offer prayers at Durga Puja pandal in West Bengal.
Fact
Viral video found to be scripted.
A 4-minute 15-second video, purportedly showing a Muslim woman removing her burqa to offer prayers at a Durga Puja pandal in West Bengal, surprising the priest and onlookers with her devotion, has gone viral across social media platforms.
“A Muslim woman came to offer Puja (prayers) to Goddess, Maa Durga, while wearing a Burqa but the Pujari (Priest) immediately stopped her and asked her if she wanted to offer prayers then she must remove her Burqa. The Muslim woman removed her Burqa without any hesitation to offer her prayers and take blessings from Maa Durga. The pujari also gave his blessings to her later. If you have faith then you can come and offer your prayers otherwise don’t come,” read an X post, sharing the purported CCTV footage, dated September 30, 2024.
Fact Check
Newschecker noticed that in one of the videos shared by a user, there was a disclaimer at the end, stating, “This reel life video footage published only for the purpose of educating the public…Characters in the video are for education and entertainment purports”, which indicates that it was staged.
We then ran a reverse image search of keyframes, which led us to the earliest instance of the video uploaded online on October 10, 2024, by actor Sanjjanaa Galrani on Facebook, titled, “This Was Unexpected..!”
“Disclaimer: Thank you for watching! Please note that this page features scripted dramas, parodies, and awareness videos. These short films are created for entertainment and educational purposes only. All characters and situations depicted in the videos are fictional and intended to raise awareness, entertain, and educate,” read the post, confirming that it was scripted.
We saw that the actor has shared several scripted videos, along with digital creator IdeasFactory, on her page. Newschecker had already debunked two such staged videos shared as real. One video went viral, falsely claiming to show a priest miraculously surviving a heart attack inside a Ganpati pandal, while the other allegedly showed a child hitting his mother with a cricket bat after she took away his mobile phone, and forced him to study.
Also Read: Viral Photo Claiming To Show Yogi Flower In Turkey Is Actually AI Generated
Conclusion
Viral video claiming to show a burqa-clad woman offering prayers at a Durga Puja pandal found to be staged.
Result: False
Source
Facebook post, Sanjjanaa Galrani, October 10, 2024
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
