Umesh Pal murder: Did Yogi Adityanath smear himself with ashes from dead cop’s pyre? Old video viral

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)

उत्तरप्रदेश के प्रयागराज में राजू पल विधायक हत्या के गवाह उमेश पाल हत्याकांड में शहीद हुए पुलिस कांस्टेबल की राख को सर माथे पर लगाते हुए योगी आदित्यनाथ –कहा–कुछ तो बड़ा ही होकर रहेगा, बहुत जल्दी कोई बड़ी सूचना भी मिल सकती है।।#Umeshpal #UmeshPalCase #PrayagrajEncounter pic.twitter.com/PxKuBwwpKY

— Jayprrakash Singh (@jayprakashindia) March 3, 2023

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.

बस यही फ़र्क है एक दिन के हिन्दू बनने में, और सनातनी हिंदू के जो कर्म – धर्म से परंपरा का पालन हमेशा करते हैं….#योगी_आदित्यनाथ ने होलिका दहन के बाद राख को माथे पर लगाया.. #परंपरा pic.twitter.com/gOTbP6Doo7

— Sameer Dixit (@sameerdixit16) March 22, 2022

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.