Authors
An Electronics & Communication engineer by training, Arjun switched to journalism to follow his passion. After completing a diploma in Broadcast Journalism at the India Today Media Institute, he has been debunking mis/disinformation for over three years. His areas of interest are politics and social media. Before joining Newschecker, he was working with the India Today Fact Check team.
Kushel HM
Claim
Video showing the funeral of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed’s son Asad Ahmed
Fact
Video shows the funeral of Maulana Rabe Hasni Nadvi, who was the President of All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
A video has recently gone viral, purportedly showing the funeral of Asad, son of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, attended by a large crowd. The nineteen-year-old, who was reportedly on the run after the February 24 murder of Umesh Pal, was gunned down in an encounter in Jhansi by the Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force on April 13. Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead on Saturday night while being taken for medical tests under police escort in Prayagraj, hours after the last rites of Asad were performed at Kasari Masari graveyard. The incident was caught on live television.
The archived versions of the tweets can be seen here and here.
Also read: Did Accused In Atiq Ahmed Murder Case Chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’? Here’s What We Found
Fact check
Newschecker first ran a keyword search for “Asad Ahmed funeral”, where we learnt that the last rites of Asad Ahmed were performed in Prayagraj on Saturday (15th April). The reports, videos and pictures available on the internet do not match the viral clip.
We also noted that the video had gone viral around 12 midnight, April 15, while Asad’s body was only handed over to the family in the morning, indicating that the video is not of the teenager’s funeral. Also, a Hindustan Times report stated that barely two dozen people were allowed at the Kasari Masari graveyard.
Newschecker then ran a reverse image search of keyframes of the video, which led us to a Youtube video, showing the funeral of Hazrat Maulana Syed Mohammad Rabe Hasni Nadvi. The viral clip can be seen from the 02:18 mark.
We learnt that Maulana Rabe Hasni Nadvi, who was the President of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Maulana of Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama Lucknow, passed away on April 13, following which a condolence meeting was held at Nadwa College in Lucknow. All the videos of this session, shared by users on social media platforms, resemble the viral clip.
TV9 Bharatvarsh and Sahil Online TV News have also shared videos of the crowd gathered at Maulana Nadvi’s condolence meeting.
Also, many videos of Nadwa College are available on YouTube, where a comparison confirmed the same building as seen in the longer version of the viral video.
A further comparison with pictures available on Google Maps confirms the viral video is from the college.
Conclusion
Newschecker found that the viral video does not show the funeral of Atiq Ahmed’s son Asad, but of Maulana Rabe Hasni Nadvi.
Result: False
Sources
YouTube video, News18, April 15, 2023
Video analysis
Youtube video, Shan Islamic studio
Google Maps
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
An Electronics & Communication engineer by training, Arjun switched to journalism to follow his passion. After completing a diploma in Broadcast Journalism at the India Today Media Institute, he has been debunking mis/disinformation for over three years. His areas of interest are politics and social media. Before joining Newschecker, he was working with the India Today Fact Check team.
