‘Javed Hussain’ disparaging Hindus of Haridwar in viral video is actually Dilip Bhagel: Police

A 1.30-minute-long clip is viral on social media where a man who claims to be Javed Hussain can be heard saying that there are no Hindus in Haridwar who can fight against Muslims. He calls the Brahmins from the Hindu community ‘dogs’. The man filming Javed Hussain states that Hinduism, unlike Islam, is a tolerant faith, and hence, he sat there and heard Hussain insult Hindus

X (formerly Twitter) Blue page Being Political (@BeingPolitical1) shared the above-mentioned video on October 24 with the following caption: “Javed Hussain acting as Sadhu is threatening Hindus. And using abusive words towards Brhamins and Hindu’s. 40% increase in Muslim population every ten years in Haridwar. Now only God save Haridwar.” (sic)

The tweet received over 64,000 views and was retweeted over 1,400 times before being deleted. (Archive)

Right-Wing propaganda outlet Sudarshan News journalist Sagar Kumar (@KumaarSaagar), who has been found sharing communal misinformation multiple times in the past, also shared the viral video with a caption in Hindi that can be translated as: “Save my Uttarakhand 👏”. The tweet has received over 89,000 views and has been retweeted over 4,000 times. (Archive)

बचा लो मेरे उत्तराखंड को 👏 pic.twitter.com/EFh5S5hPvQ

— Sagar Kumar “Sudarshan News” (@KumaarSaagar) October 24, 2023

Several other users such as @Himalaya_ghost, @scribe9104, @Sudanshutrivedi, @TheAbhishek_IND, @SonOfBharat7, @cutedikshaji, @cutepreetiji, @ShivamdixitInd, @Imjyotii_ , @mainRiniti and @SanatanKaYoddha, also shared the same video with similar captions.

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Fact Check

First, we ran a relevant keyword search in Hindi that led us to a news report by a local outlet called News 129. The headline in Hindi can be translated as: “Haridwar Police arrested Javed Hussain who turned out to be Dilip Bhagel, made a communal video after being lured by drugs, action taken”. According to the report, Haridwar police confirmed that the man in the video was a beggar. He was made to utter such communal comments with the lure of drugs.

Taking a cue from the above, we checked the official X handle of the Haridwar police for any updates on the matter. We came across a video shared by the handle featuring the same man in the viral video. The caption accompanying the video in Hindi can be translated as: “Do not spoil social harmony by getting misled by false conspiracies. Haridwar Police is committed to taking strict action against those sharing such posts. @uttarakhandcops #fakenews #ViralVideos”. In the video, the man could be heard saying that his name is Dilip Bhagel, his father’s name is Bhagwati Prasad Bhagel and that he is a resident of village Dhamota in Agra district. The man further says that he met a person at the Ganga ghat who gave him something to consume and then asked him to say the things he said in the video and also told him to take the name ‘Javed Hussain’.

झूठे षड्यंत्रों के बहकावे में आकर सामाजिक सौहार्द न बिगाड़ें। ऐसी पोस्टें शेयर करने वालों के खिलाफ हरिद्वार पुलिस कठोर कार्यवाही करने के लिए प्रतिबद्ध है।@uttarakhandcops #fakenews #ViralVideos pic.twitter.com/YYJkFNzfbs

— Haridwar Police Uttarakhand (@haridwarpolice) October 24, 2023

SSP Haridwar Pramendra Dobhal, too, issued a statement saying the man in the video was identified as Dilip Bhagel, a resident of Agra. Police were on the lookout for the persons who were involved in the making of the video.

Therefore, the viral video is not of a person from the Muslim community insulting Hindus but of a Hindu who impersonated a Muslim man and made communal statements. As per Haridwar police, the man was in an intoxicated state when he was filmed.