Video viral with false claim that illegally constructed mosque was torn down in Unnao

A video of a bulldozer tearing down a white building with dome-shaped structures has gone viral on social media platforms. It has been claimed that the visuals are from Unnao, where a mosque, along with houses built on illegal land, was demolished. Twitter user Uma Shankar Raghav tweeted this video. (Archive link)

उन्नाव वाला बकरा जो बद्रीनाथ को बदरुदीन की जगह बता रहा था उस मस्जिद और आसपास के घर उड़ा दिए ,fir दर्ज की और कागज दिखाने को बोला गया अवैध बनी थी मस्जिद और घर।

योगी जी आह योगी जी pic.twitter.com/PBANxYMeIP

— 🚩🇮🇳उमा शंकर राघव 🇮🇳🚩8k (@UmaShankar2054) August 2, 2021

It is noteworthy that the claim has also made a reference to a video of a man who says Badrinath Temple in Uttarakhand is a religious site for the Muslim community. The individual was said to be associated with the Aam Aadmi Party but Alt News fact-check identified him as Maulana Abdul Latif Qasmi of the Darul Uloom Niswah Madrasa.

A Facebook page called ‘Expose The Deshdrohis‘ has also posted this clip with the same claim.

The footage is being shared widely across Facebook and Twitter.

Fact-check

Alt News performed a keyword search, which led us to a News18 story dated July 27. According to the report, illegally constructed houses built on land owned by the Irrigation Department were torn down in the Sohramau Police Station area falling on the Lucknow-Kanpur highway in Unnao. On June 23, 2020, District Panchayat member Arun Singh had lodged a complaint against the individuals who were illegally residing on the Irrigation Department’s land.

The article states, “An official said that the total length of the main canal route was 900 meters. Five owners of eight houses measuring 160 meters long and 7 meters wide had been warned earlier through a notice, but none of them had removed their encroachments. As per the orders of the chief minister, action was taken against these individuals as part of the initiative to remove encroachments from government-owned property.”

Mahendra Singh, Jal Shakti Minister for Uttar Pradesh, posted this video on July 26. The following day, Singh tweeted and shared newspaper clippings reporting on the removal of the encroachments.

Alt News reached out to Unnao ASP Shashi Shekhar Singh to get to the bottom of the viral claims on social media. “The claims going around on social media are false. We will take cognizance of this issue. At present, we would like to clarify that no mosque was part of the illegal constructions that were torn down. There were only some houses and shops there. Also, as far as I know, the homes built on the illegally occupied land did not even belong to members of the Muslim community,” he explained.

Thus, a video of illegal encroachments being torn down in Unnao was shared on social media with the false claim that the Muslim community had occupied the land and built luxurious houses and mosques there.