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.
The Hijab row that erupted at a Karnataka college last month, after a group of Hijab-clad girls were barred from attending college, has become a source of discord on social media, with users sharing pro- and anti-hijab content to support their point. In this light, several users are sharing a video claiming to show the arrest of “Terror male groups wearing Burka Hijab” for pelting stones at the police. However, Newschecker has found the claim to be misleading.
Several Facebook users have shared the video claiming that “Terror male groups wearing Burka Hijab” were caught “red-handed at AP, Telangana and Karnataka” for throwing stones at police.
The video is doing the round on Twitter too with the same claim.
Newschecker also received the same video on our WhatsApp tipline (+91-9999499044) requesting to be fact checked.
After a group of female students were denied entry by a college administration for wearing hijab in Karnataka’s Udupi district, protests took place in several parts of the state. Saffron Shawl donning protestors and burqa clad women hit the streets, sometimes simultaneously, resulting in clashes at several parts of the state. Newschecker debunked multiple misinformation related to the Hijab protests over the past one month. You can read our fact checks here, here and here.
A petition in the matter is pending in the Karnataka high court. On February 18, Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi informed the high court that the College Development Committee (CDC) has been empowered to decide on the dress code in educational institutions.
Fact Check/Verification
Newschecker conducted Google reverse image search for multiple keyframes of the viral video to verify the veracity of the claim, and came across a video posted on Twitter in November 2021, carrying keyframes of the viral video. This proves that the clip has been in circulation for at least past one year.
We skimmed through the comments associated with the video and found a tweet by user @riyaz12nadaf, carrying a YouTube video with the caption ‘Several Arrested | for Transfer Illegal Liquor with Wearing Burqa | at Kurnool Dist’, uploaded on the official channel of ETV Andhra Pradesh on August 8, 2020.
According to the video report, the Andhra police arrested a burqa-clad man for smuggling liquor from Telanaga. It added that the smuggler dressed up as a woman to deceive the police. However, the police officials at Panchalinga check post got suspicious and on searching the vehicle recovered liquor bottles.
Newschecker found that the same video was uploaded on a YouTube channel called ‘Etikala Eliyas E – News’ on August 8, 2020 with a caption in Telugu which roughly translates to ‘Liquor merchant is a Burqa-wearing fraudster’
We also came across a tweet by Dr. Fakkeerappa Kaginelli IPS, dated August 16, 2020, -then SP Kurnool- clarifying, “The burqa clad man in this video was found carrying liquor bottles illegally across state from Telangana to Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. Caught by Excise police, was reported on 7-8-2020 in Kurnool Taluka Police station.” The tweet also carried the YouTube link to the video report by ETV Andhra Pradesh.
Notably, the same video has been doing the rounds on social media for the past 2 years. In 2020, the video went viral with the claim to show a gang of robbers who wear Burqa for theft. Newschecker had debunked this claim in 2020 as well. Last year, the video went viral with the claim that in an attempt to “defame Muslims” an RSS worker donned a Burqa and waved Pakistan’s flag.
Conclusion
The viral video claiming to show that a Burqa-clad man was arrested for pelting stones at police amid Hijab row is misleading. The clip is from 2020 and shows the arrest of liquor smugglers in Kurnool district.
Result: Misleading Content
Sources
YouTube Channels Of ETV Andhra Pradesh & Etikala Eliyas E – News
Twitter Accounts Of Dr. Fakkeerappa Kaginelli IPS & Riyaz Nadaf
If you would like us to fact check a claim, give feedback or lodge a complaint, WhatsApp us at 9999499044 or email us at checkthis@newschecker.in. You can also visit the Contact Us page and fill the form.
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.
