Images of UP Imam injured by robber falsely shared as attacked by ‘Sanghis’

A set of images of an injured man is being shared on the social media with the narrative that an Imam of a mosque in Lucknow was attacked by “Sanghis-Bajrangis.” The photographs show a man whose head and the right hand is bandaged. He is sitting wearing a blood-soaked undervest. “नफ़रतों की इन्तिहा हो गई कायर संघियों। 11 बजे रात में लखनऊ में जेल रोड पर बनी मस्जिद के इमाम हाफ़िज़ अदनान साहब पर नीच, कायर संघियों-बजरंगियों ने तलवार से जानलेवा हमला किया। (Coward Sanghis have exceeded the limits of hatred. At 11 PM, Imam Hafiz Adnan at Lucknow’s Jail Road mosque was fatally attacked by coward Sanghis-Bajrangis with a sword. -translated)”. One Shaida Hussain posted the images with the same claim.

नफ़रतों की इन्तिहा हो गई कायर संघियों।
11 बजे रात में लखनऊ में जेल रोड पर बनी मस्जिद के इमाम हाफ़िज़ अदनान साहब पर नीच, कायर संघियों-बजरंगियों ने तलवार से जानलेवा हमला किया।
अल्लाह ने हिफ़ाज़त फ़रमाई।। pic.twitter.com/Krx9HgwLMk

— shaida Hussain Chaudhary (@ShaidaHussain2) October 29, 2019

Online news platform National Dastak published a report with the same narrative that the Imam was attacked by RSS and Bajrang Dal members.

Several people on Facebook and Twitter shared the photos with an identical narrative. A similar post by one Syed Hassanul Haque on Facebook was shared more than 1,600 times. According to the post, the Imam’s name is Hafeez Adnan.

Fact-check

A Google search revealed that an Imam at a mosque in Lucknow was indeed attacked. The incident took place on October 28. However, it may be noted that his name is not Hafeez Adnan but Abdul Mukim. According to Mukim, a man attacked him with a sharp weapon when he was resting in his room at around 11 PM. He suffered injuries on his head and right hand.

#अलहम्दोलिल्लाह
लखनऊ में पुरानी जेल रोड, इको गार्डन वाली मस्जिद के इमाम मौलाना हाफ़िज अब्दुल मुक़ीम साहब पर हुए जानलेवा हमले पर धारा 307 और 452 में FIR हो चुकी है। हुसैनी सेना द्वारा अधिकारियों से बात करने पर उन्होने भरोसा दिया है कि जल्द ही अपराधी को गिरफ्तार कर लिया जायेगा । pic.twitter.com/ZMwJitgHfl

— Sajid Hashmat (@sajid_hashmat) October 30, 2019

On October 29, Alambagh police lodged an FIR against the attacker under Section 307 (attempt to murder) and Section 452 (house-trespass) of the IPC. Two days later, Suraj Prajapati, a 19-year-old resident of Barabanki, was arrested by the police. According to a press note issued by the police, Prajapati confessed to entering the Imam’s house, however, with the motive of robbery. Upon finding Mukim awake, he panicked and assaulted him twice with a pipe. Soon after, Prajapati fled the scene.

SSP LKO @ipsnaithani के निर्देशन में थाना आलमबाग पुलिस द्वारा 01 शातिर अभियुक्त गिरफ्तार। @Uppolice @dgpup @adgzonelucknow @Igrangelucknow @CMOfficeUP @JagranNews @AmarUjalaNews @UPNBT pic.twitter.com/ZVWsCk3L32

— LUCKNOW POLICE (@lkopolice) November 1, 2019

In conclusion, a case of a failed robbery wherein a man was brutally attacked by the robber was given a communal narrative by suggesting that the man was attacked by members of RSS and Bajrang Dal.