A CCTV clip of a clash at a restaurant is being shared online with the claim that the incident took place at a dhaba in Haryana owned by a Muslim. As per the claim, a waiter hailing from the Muslim community made lewd comments at a woman from the Hindu community. The claim adds that when the woman opposed, the entire staff comprising Muslims beat up her husband. The viral message also appeals to people to avoid visiting dhabas owned by Muslims.

Twitter user @VishnuMTiwari1 shared this clip and so did many other Twitter users.

We found that several Facebook pages and groups posted this video, including pro-BJP accounts such as рдпреЛрдЧреА рд╣реИ рддреЛ рдпрдХреАрди рд╣реИред, WE SUPPORT BJP RSS ( рдирдореЛ ), We Support Narendra Modi Ji, BJP Mission 2024 and рд╢реНрд░реА рдореЛрджреА рдЬреА рдФрд░ рд╢реНрд░реА рдпреЛрдЧреА рдЬреА рд╕рдорд░реНрдердХ рддреБрд░рдВрдд рдЬреБрдбрд╝реЗЁЯЩП.

False communal spin

The clip has a voice-over narrating the incident. It carries the logo of ‘Janta Breaking News’ on the top right. The narrator said the incident took place at ‘Mannat Star’ dhaba in Haryana’s Kurukshetra. However, there is no reference that the incident was communal.

Next, we performed a keyword search on Facebook and found that the viral video is clipped from a February 20 report by the Facebook page Janta Breaking News. The viral video comprises the opening three minutes of the report. The original video has 2.1 million views. As per this report, the dhaba staff was assaulting customers. Five minutes into the video, the narrator states the chronology of the events – a couple visited this restaurant for dinner. The wife, Samana Bahu, expressed her concern after a server made a comment. However, the narrator hasn’t revealed the comment.

Haryana News, a YouTube channel, also reported this incident based on the video by Janta Breaking News. As per this report, Ravi and his friends were attacked. Ravi spoke to the channel and his bite can be heard at the 10-minute mark. He said, “…Me and my wife, along with some friends and their partners, went to have dinner at ‘Manna dhaba’. During dinner, they [the staff] misbehaved with my wife. When we raised an issue, we were told to speak with the manager sitting outside. The manager refused to speak with us and soon we were attacked with sticks.” Ravi does not claim that the attack was communally motivated.

At 22:00 minutes, Butana Police Station SHO Kanwar Singh joined the broadcast via a phone call. He said, “By the time we reached the dhaba on February 13, the conflict was over. The victims said they would file a complaint the next morning. The FIR mentions that the staff misbehaved and manhandled the women. While the fight indeed took place, there is no evidence of misbehaving and manhandling as per our investigation.”

Alt News spoke with Kanwar Singh and he informed, “Both the parties hail from the Hindu community. The social media claim that the incident is communal is totally false.” He added, “I have seen the CCTV footage. There is no truth to the claim that the staffer misbehaved with women. As per our investigation, Ravi and his friends spoke rudely to the dhaba staff. This led to a fight between the two groups. As of now, we have arrested three dhaba staffers. The dhaba management has also filed an FIR.”

A clash between customers and staff of a dhaba in Haryana’s Butana was shared with a false anti-Muslim spin.

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About the Author

ЁЯЩП Blessed to have worked as a fact-checking journalist from November 2019 to February 2023.