Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
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
A Muslim man openly threatens uniformed police personnel in Karnataka, after Congress’ win in the recent assembly polls.
Fact
Video shows an incident that took place in Chopda in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district in 2018.
A video of a man, wearing a skull cap, openly threatening a uniformed police personnel swamped by a huge crowd is going viral on social media platforms. Those who shared the footage linked it to the Congress’ recent win in the Karnataka assembly polls, insinuating that it has ‘emboldened’ the community members to be brazen. Multiple Twitter users shared the 30-second-long-clip claiming, “Congress Wins: The Chief Minister has not even taken oath yet and this is the situation in Karnataka.” (translated from Hindi) Newschecker found the claim to be untrue. The video is neither recent, nor from Karnataka.
Archived versions of such posts can be seen here, here, here and here.
Fact Check/Verification
We skimmed through the comment sections of various posts carrying the viral footage, and spotted a user pointing out that the clip is actually from Maharashtra.
A keyword search on YouTube for “ वर्दी उतार के मिल,” – phrase heard in the footage, yielded a video by Hindustan Right of voice, dated October 2, 2018. It featured a longer version of the viral video, with the title ‘मुसलमान ने धमकी दी वर्दी उतार के मिल मिया भाई हूँ.’
This led us to conclude that the video is over four-year-old, and that the incident did not take place following Congress’ recent win in the Karnataka polls.
Also Read: No, This Video Does Not Show Man Waving Pakistani Flag In Karnataka After Congress’ Win
Taking a clue from the above findings, we looked up various combinations of keywords “Miya Bhai,” “Maharashtra, “Police,” “Uniform” (in Hindi and Marathi too) on various online platforms. A Facebook search for keywords “पोलिस,” and “वर्दि” in posts from 2018, yielded a post by @mallikarjun.dnyane.7, dated September 21, 2018.
Carrying a longer version of the viral video, the post stated, “Incident at Chopra bus stand. On which topic will peace loving people be arguing with Police Dada??? Take out the uniform and then I will show you!!! What is this to be shown to them??? Such incidents are happening in the country. (translated from Marathi by Google)”
Notably, the same video had gone viral in April 2022 with users claiming that it showed a Muslim man threatening a police personnel in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, and was debunked by Newschecker Hindi. During the course of investigation, Newschecker Hindi team had reached out to the Chopda (City) Police Station, and Sandeep Rao Patil who was posted there said, “The video is from Chopda bus stand in Jalgaon district. The police personnel seen on the video is Shrikant Gangurde.”
With Rao’s help we reached out to Gangurde who elaborated on the entire incident. He told us, “It happened in September 2018, when I was posted as the Head Constable at Chopda (City) Police Station in Jalgaon.” Adding, “I was at the Chopda bus stand, and a person had parked his vehicle there causing problems for others. I asked the person to remove his vehicle, but he didn’t listen, leading to an argument between us.”
He further told us, “Four people were booked under IPC section 353 in the case, but two of them died a year ago. These are the same two men whom you can see threatening me from the front in the video.”
Also Read: Video Of Shivakumar Ripping Textbook During 2022 Protest Falsely Linked To Karnataka Polls Aftermath
Conclusion
We could thus conclude that a 2018 video from Chopda in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district is being falsely shared to show a Muslim man threatening a police personnel in Karnataka post Congress’ win.
Result: False
Sources
YouTube Video By Hindustan Right of voice, Dated October 2, 2018
Facebook Post By @mallikarjun.dnyane.7, Dated September 21, 2018
Conversation With Police Personnel Shrikant Gangurde
(With reporting inputs from Shubham Singh)
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Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
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.
