Old image from UP shared to portray police complicity in Jahangirpuri violence - Alt News
Nilofar Absar
22nd April 2022 / 8:41 pm
Following the communal violence that recently took place in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, an image is being widely shared on social media. The image depicts a squad of police personnel flanked by two men in casual clothes wearing saffron masks to cover their faces. One of the men can be seen carrying what appears to be a stick.
The image is viral with the insinuation that the men seen with the police personnel are Hindutva goons carrying swords to offer protection to Delhi police.
हाथमे तलवार लेकर दिल्ली पुलिस की रक्षा करते धर्मरक्षक..@DelhiPolice pic.twitter.com/Pql0rglAHG
— Wajid shaikh (@WajidShaikh24) April 17, 2022
हाथमे तलवार लेकर दिल्ली पुलिस की रक्षा करते धर्मरक्षक.. pic.twitter.com/Z4SWaflYIr
— Naushad khan (sallu) (@naushadshallu) April 18, 2022
We performed a reverse image search on Yandex and found tweets dating back to 2020, sharing the viral image.
The police also help #RSS us in India.
#islamophobia_in_india #islamophobia_In_India pic.twitter.com/zS5lMYfrVp
— Tahir Ali (@TahirAl44322311) April 22, 2020
Amongst these tweets, we found one by a user named Saba Khan stating that the image is from UP’s Badaun district.
पुलिस वालों के साथ भगवा गमछे में कौन है?? (बदायूं U.P.) pic.twitter.com/hFUcCr4CIz
— Saba khan 👉 😷 (@Saba__PathaN2) April 20, 2020
Upon going through her Twitter profile, we also came across a video capturing the same incident where cops can be seen walking through the narrow alleyway. The men wearing saffron scarves can be spotted as well.
ये वीडियो बदायूं का है पर मैं पूरी तरह से कंफर्म नहीं हूं
पुलिस के साथ भगवा गमछे में कौन है ???
बस इस सवाल का जवाब चाहिए
कहां का है कब का है फर्क नहीं पड़ता..
सवाल सिर्फ ये है कि पुलिस के साथ ये लोग कौन हैं ?? pic.twitter.com/q7Ez8ZRCHh
— Saba khan 👉 😷 (@Saba__PathaN2) April 20, 2020
Another Twitter user Raqim Qadri commented on Saba Khan’s tweet that the video is from Badaun. We rummaged Raqim Qadri’s Twitter profile and found a tweet stating that the video is from the Jalandhari Sarai area in Badaun.
Yeh video budaun ke mohalla jalandhari saray ki hy..
Or yeh police walo ke sath ghamcha dale kon chal rha h @budaunpolice https://t.co/dPNhQuram6
— RaQim Qadri (@RaqimQ) April 20, 2020
Beneath this tweet, we found a comment from Budaun police’s official Twitter handle confirming that the two men in the viral image are “COVID warriors” assisting the police personnel by urging locals to stay at home and download the Arogya Setu app. The two men in the viral image have been identified as Mukesh Kumar and Sunil Gurjar.
Thus, an old image from 2020 is being shared with a false claim linking it to the communal violence that recently took place in Jahangirpuri, New Delhi.
Nilofar Absar is a lawyer by training and a storyteller by nature who takes a keen interest in the lives of people belonging to South Asian diasporic communities.
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