A video is being circulated on social media with the claim that an RSS worker was caught dressed in a burqa and waving the Pakistani flag. Raju Upman who claimed to a Congress worker tweeted this video along with the caption, “बुर्का पहनकर पाकिस्तान का झंडा लहरा रहा था यह आर . एस .एस . का भ***.” The video was viewed over 1 lakh times and received 4,000 retweets before the account was taken down. (archive)
The video is also being shared on Facebook with the same claim. Some users are also claiming that the person is a BJP leader.
Fact-check
Dr Fareekappa Kaginelli, who is currently serving as an SP in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district, replied to Upman’s tweet that the claim is incorrect. Dr Kaginelli clarified that the burqa-clad person was caught by the police for illegally carrying alcohol from Telangana to Kurnool. The incident took place on August 7.
Facts#
The burqa clad man in this video was found carrying liquor bottles
illegally across state from Telangana to Kurnool, Andhrapradesh. Caught by Excise police, was reported on 7-8-2020 in Kurnool Taluka Police station.https://t.co/GDdPPW7wK5
Stop spreading misinformntion— Dr.Fakkeerappa Kaginelli IPS (@SP_Kurnool) August 16, 2020
He also shared a video clip of ETV Andhra Pradesh broadcast on August 7, which gives more information about this viral video. As per the video broadcast, AP police had arrested a few people including this burqa-clad man for smuggling alcohol.
We reached out Dr Kagenelli who confirmed that the social media claim is false and that it was a matter of alcohol smuggling. To escape the police, the man dressed up as a woman while crossing the state border from Telangana to Andhra Pradesh. He was accompanied by another man who was driving the bike. They hoped that the police would not stop them at the check-post if one of them wore a burqa. However, both were arrested. A copy of the FIR has been shared with us. As per the complaint, Satish Goud (46) and Mohammad Arif (35) were arrested at Panchlingla check-post in Kurnool district.
In this manner, the video is being circulated with a false claim that a burqa-clad man affiliated with BJP or RSS was waving the Pakistani flag and was arrested by the police.
Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people start contributing towards the same. Please consider donating towards this endeavour to fight fake news and misinformation.