Several users on Twitter and Facebook shared an aerial image of a crowded locality. The most prominent structure in the image is a mosque. As per the viral claim, the image is from Mumbai. The state of Maharashtra has been in the news amidst actor Kangana Ranaut’s tussle with Shiv Sena. After alleged illegal construction at the actor’s office in Palli Hill was demolished by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), some social media users wonder when will mosques in the city be torn down.

A Facebook user Vinit Hindu shared the viral image and wrote in Hindi, “In Mumbai, over 200 illegal mosques are built in the middle of thousands of roads. But BMC is only busy with Kangna’s illegal office construction. #Shameful.” This post has been shared over 3,000 times. (archived link)

(Translated from рдореБрдВрдмрдИ рдореЗрдВ 200 рд╕реЗ рдЬреНрдпрд╛рджрд╛ рдЕрд╡реИрдз рдорд╕реНрдЬрд┐рджреЗрдВ рд╣рдЬрд╛рд░реЛрдВ рдордЬрд╛рд░реЗрдВ рд╕рдбрд╝рдХреЛрдВ рдХреЗ рдмреАрдЪ рдмрдиреА рд╣реИрдВ! рдкрд░ BMC рдХреЛ рд╕рд┐рд░реНрдл рдХрдВрдЧрдирд╛ рдХрд╛ рдСрдлрд┐рд╕ рдЕрд╡реИрдз рдирд┐рд░реНрдорд╛рдг рд▓рдЧрд╛! #рд▓рд╛рдирдд_рд╣реИ)

Hindu Yuva Vahini member Yogi Devnath tweeted the viral image and wrote, “This is also illegal construction, when will Uddhav break this. (рдпреЗ рднреА рдЕрд╡реИрдз рдирд┐рд░реНрдорд╛рдг рд╣реИрдВ рдЗрд╕реЗ рдХрдм рддреЛрдбрд╝реЗрдВрдЧреЗ рдЙрджреНрдзрд╡).” This tweet has been retweeted close to 4,000 times. (archived link)

Fact-check

Alt News performed a reverse image search and found that the image was published by Dainik Bhaskar in August. The image is a drone shot of the Katra Bazaar area in Sagar city of Madhya Pradesh. The photographer is Tonu Nirmal as per the photo credits. According to the report, the market was crowded due to the relaxation in lockdown, and the fact that festivals of Eid and Rakshabandhan were around the corner.

When we looked for mosques in the same area on Google, we noticed that Jama Masjid (Marqaz) has the same green-coloured shed on top and is located in the middle of a crossway junction just like the mosque in the viral image.

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Additionally, we compared a photo of the mosque uploaded on Google Maps with the viral image and found five visual points to authenticate that the viral image is of Jama Masjid in Sagar, MP and not Mumbai.

1) Green shed
2) Two domes and a minaret
3) Seven windows in the same sequence 2,2,3 (from right to left)
4) Exact windows beneath the domes
5) Identical slanting wall

Thus the social media claim that the mosque is in Mumbai is false. It’s from Sagar’s Katra Bazaar in Madhya Pradesh.

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About the Author

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