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
Illegal Bangladeshi Muslim migrants holding a rally in Assam, demanding a separate country.
Fact
Video dates back to June 2017, shows demonstration against the alleged inclusion of several Indian citizens in the doubtful-voters list in Assam.
Several social media users are circulating a 1-minute 24-second video, claiming it shows a group of illegal Bangladeshi Muslim migrants holding a rally in Assam, demanding a separate country, before getting thrashed by the police. “…They also raised slogans of ‘Azadi’. They were immediately treated by the Assam Police,” read one X post, translated from Hindi, which has clocked 171.8K views.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Fact Check
Newschecker ran a keyword search for “Assam Bangladeshi Muslims protest separate country”, which did not throw up any credible news reports about such a demonstration.
We then ran a reverse image search of keyframes of the video, which led us to a longer and clearer version of the viral video on Youtube, dated July 2, 2017 and uploaded by the Times of Dhubri, headlined, “Goalpara incident- Police killed a young protester ‘Iyaqub Ali’.
“Fascist brutality and oppression by Assam police on the Minorities: It has become a common practice by the incumbent Assam govts. to unleash a reign of terror on the people who come out in protest demanding their democratic rights and legitimate justice. This time it is in Kharbuja, Goalpara district, Assam, India, when police resorted to lathi charge and indiscriminately fired on a peaceful protest by citizens who were demanding lifting of ‘doubtful citizen and voters tag’ imposed by the govt. against many genuine Indians. The name of the deceased is Yakub Ali, age 22 years from Khutamari village under Kumri police station Goalpara…,” read the description of the video.
We ran a relevant keyword search, which led us to this Scroll report, dated July 3, 2017, stating that Yakub Ali, 22, was shot dead by the Assam police on Friday morning. According to the report, he was part of a protest that had turned violent: a protest against the alleged harassment of Muslims by the state by falsely accusing them of being illegal migrants, or “D voters” as they call them in Khutamari. D-voter is a category of voters in Assam who have been disenfranchised by the Election Commission, because of having failed to produce legal documents of citizenship.
The report also carried the viral video, which was originally shot and posted by a Facebook user, Hussain Ali Madani, on June 30, 2017. Madani was reportedly among a group of other local journalists accompanying police to the protest. One person was killed and another injured in clashes between protesters and police, read the post, translated from Assamese.
We also came across this July 1, 2017 The Wire report, stating, “A 22-year-old man, Yakub Ali, died in police firing in Assam’s Goalpara district on June 30 during a public rally to protest against the alleged inclusion of several Indian citizens in the D (doubtful)-voters list in the state by police and foreigners’ tribunals.”
Also Read: Old Unrelated Video Falsely Shared As Pakistani Minister Sexually Assaulting A Woman
Conclusion
Old video of a protest against the alleged inclusion of several Indian citizens in the doubtful-voters list in Assam shared as Bangladeshi Muslim migrants demanding a separate country.
Result: False
Source
Youtube video, Times of Dhubri, July 2, 2017
Scroll report, July 3, 2017
The Wire report, June 30, 2017
Facebook video, Hussain Ali Madani, June 30, 2017
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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.
