On August 12, 2019, news agency ANI tweeted a set of photographs, reporting that these were clicked in Srinagar where “People offered namaz in the morning at Mohalla mosques in various parts of the city on #EidAlAdha.”
SRINAGAR: People offered namaz in the morning at Mohalla mosques in various parts of the city on #EidAlAdha, today. #JammuAndKasmir pic.twitter.com/5TcwnW0bQf
— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2019
It may be noted that a curfew was imposed in J&K along with a communication blackout after the Union government moved to revoke provisions of Article 370 and reorganize the state. The same set of photos was also published by India TV which reported that these pictures are from Srinagar in Kashmir.
PICTURES FROM JAMMU, NOT KASHMIR
Alt News was alerted by a tweet from a journalist working with AFP who pointed out that the mosque shown in the photos in not in Srinagar but in fact in Jammu.
This is Jammu city, not Srinagar.
ANI claims these photos of #EidAlAdha prayers are from a local mosque in Srinagar, however, this is Makkah Masjid in Bathindi locality in Jammu city.
Geo-location of the mosque in Jammu https://t.co/Zusvy1ZAkR
— Uzair Hasan Rizvi (@RizviUzair) August 12, 2019
On the basis of this claim, Alt News searched for Makkah Masjid in Jammu to check for similarities. The Makkah Masjid is in the Bathindi area of Jammu. Using Google Maps, we could access the ‘street view’ image of the mosque, which has been posted below.
On the basis of the above image of Makkah Masjid in Jammu, we were able to establish similarities between this building and the one shown in the photo, claimed to be from a mosque in Srinagar.
As can be seen from the above image, there are similarities in the two buildings which suggest that they are the same:
1. The arches and columns that make up the building’s facade are the same for both.
2. The window seen on the left side of the facade of the building is identical in both pictures.
3. The window seen on the leftmost side too is identical in both buildings.
Moreover, in the image posted by ANI and India TV, ongoing construction can be seen on the right side of the building. That this mosque is in Jammu is corroborated by a recent video posted on YouTube which shows the same.
Alt News found that this set of photographs had been tweeted by the Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs. It is noteworthy that this tweet did not claim that the photos are exclusively from Kashmir. Instead, these pictures were said to be from Jammu & Kashmir.
Prayers being offered on the occasion of #EidAlAdha2019 in #JammuAndKashmir. Sharing sweets and bringing smiles on everyone’s faces @JmuKmrPolice @PIBSrinagar @diprjk @airnewsalerts @DDNewsLive pic.twitter.com/OkubyF4fKt
— Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) August 12, 2019
In conclusion, photographs taken at a mosque in Jammu on the occasion of Eid were passed off by ANI and India TV as taken in Srinagar.
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