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
Hindutva goons assault a Muslim man in the middle of the road, forcing him to chant “Jai Shri Ram”.
Fact
Video dates back to May 2022, showing man thrashed for stalking a minor in Delhi, while the audio is from an unrelated case in Madhya Pradesh, dating back to August 2021.
Several social media users are circulating a video, claiming it to show “Hindutva goons” thrashing a Muslim man in the middle of the street, and forcing him to chant “Jai Shri Ram”. The archived version of the post can be seen here. But a fact-check by Newschecker found that the video is old, edited and has been shared in a false context.
Fact Check
Newschecker noticed that the audio was not in sync with the video, raising our doubts on whether it was edited.
We then ran a reverse image search of keyframes, which led us to a clearer version of the same video shared on X on May 10, 2022. “A 40-45 year old Muslim man was molesting a 14-year-old girl for the last 5 days at Nathu Colony Chowk in Shahdara, Delhi. Today he was caught red handed at Nathu Colony Chowk by the girl’s parents and her family members,” read the post, translated from Hindi, while the audio was not the same as the viral clip.
A relevant keyword search led us to this ANI post on the case, dated May 12, 2022, stating that the Delhi Police arrested a 37-year-old man, Irfan Khan, for allegedly stalking & misbehaving with a 13-years-old girl. Case registered against him u/s 354D IPC & 12 POCSO Act. News reports on the incident can be seen here and here, where there is no mention of the man being forced to chant “Jai Shri Ram”.
“A middle-aged man was assaulted in broad daylight in a Delhi locality after he allegedly molested a 13-year-old girl, who was on her way to her tuition class. The man, who was thrashed by a group of men using stones and sticks, was rescued by a beat officer policing the area and later arrested. A video of the incident later went viral on social media,” read the Indian Express report, dated May 12, 2022.
To trace the source of the audio, we next ran a keyword search using the phrases heard in the viral video, which led us to this Times of India report on Youtube, dated August 29, 2021. “In yet another incident, a Muslim junk dealer was forced to raise the Jai Shree Ram slogan in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain. A video of two men threatening the Muslim man to raise the slogan or face the consequences has gone viral…,” read the report. Similar reports can be seen here, here and here, stating that the two were arrested. A comparison confirms that the audio from the reports was edited and overlaid onto the viral video.
Conclusion
An old video showing a man being thrashed for stalking a minor in Delhi has been altered and shared with a false communal claim that Hindus assaulted a Muslim man, forcing him to chant “Jai Shri Ram”.
Result: False
Sources
X post, May 10, 2022
TOI report, August 29, 2021
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 out the form. Follow our WhatsApp channel for more updates
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.
