A video of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath is gathering a lot of traction on social media. In the clip, he can be seen applying ashes from the ground on his forehead. It is being claimed that Adityanath smeared himself with ashes from the funeral pyre of a police constable who died after being injured in a fatal attack on Umesh Pal, the key witness in a BSP MLA’s murder. 

India TV journalist Jayprrakash Singh tweeted the footage, claiming that Yogi Adityanath put the ashes of the police constable who was martyred in the Umesh Pal murder case in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh on his forehead. (Archived link)

Jan Ki Baat Editor Pooja Kushwah also tweeted this video with this claim. (Archived link)

A user named Thakur Ankit Singh also promoted the video with the same claim. (Archived link)

A number of verified handles also amplified the clip and accompanying claim. 

Fact Check 

Alt News performed a search using keywords related to the viral video. This led us to a tweet by Times Group journalist Sameer Dixit dated March 22, 2022 containing the same clip. Dixit wrote that Yogi Adityanath had put ashes on his forehead after Holika Dahan. In other words, this video is at least one year old. It is now being shared with a misleading claim by linking it to the police constable martyred in the recent Umesh Pal murder case.

Alt News could not find any more information about this video. However, it is certain that this video is not related to the recent Umesh Pal murder case.

It can be concluded with certainty that a one-year-old video of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath applying ashes on his forehead after Holika Dahan is being falsely shared with a misleading claim. 

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About the Author

Abhishek is a senior fact-checking journalist and researcher at Alt News. He has a keen interest in information verification and technology. He is always eager to learn new skills, explore new OSINT tools and techniques. Prior to joining Alt News, he worked in the field of content development and analysis with a major focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).