Sandeep Thakur, who identifies as head of social media and IT intellectual cell of BJP Delhi, shared a video on Twitter (archive link) with the claim that Muslim commuters spat on fellow passengers inside a metro train in Paris. The video shows cops rounding up a number of people. “The same treatment should be meted out to them (Muslims) here (in India) as well. These people were selling saliva-ridden vegetables,” he claimed.
पेरिस के मेट्रो में बिना मास्क के घुसे मुस्लिमों ने अन्य यात्रियों पर थूका। उसके बाद पुलिस ने जो किया, उसकी कल्पना भी नहीं की थी
ऐसे ही इलाज होना चाहिए यहाँ भी खूब थूक लगा लगाकर सब्जी बेचीं हैं इन लोगो ने pic.twitter.com/ZQIAKlNcgw
— Sandeep Thakur (@thakurbjpdelhi) November 15, 2020
The same video also shared by Twitter user P.N.Rai who wrote that Europe is now becoming an Islamic state (archive link). Ponnappa Cheppudira (@PCheppudira) tweeted the clip with a similar caption in English.
पेरिस के मेट्रो में बिना मास्क के घुसे मुस्लिमों ने अन्य यात्रियों पर थूका। उसके बाद पुलिस ने जो किया, उसकी कल्पना भी नहीं की थी।
वैसे यूरोप का इस्लामीकरण हो चुका है, अब कुछ नहीं हो सकता। pic.twitter.com/vsS2O48c9U— P.N.Rai (@PNRai1) November 14, 2020
Another Twitter user shared this video claiming refugees were spitting on people in Paris.
Refugees spitting on people in the underground in Paris the police Knock some manners into them 👏 pic.twitter.com/OP1dcvpFCv
— MIDDLESBROUGH PAUL (@RIVERSIDEREDS) November 13, 2020
Several other users have shared this video on Facebook and Twitter with a Hindi caption.
False claim
Alt News broke down this video into multiple frames by using InVID and a reverse search of one of the frames led us to a Romanian news article published on October 2, 2020. This incident happened in Bucharest, Romania. According to this article, “Dinamo and Steaua (football) fans gathered on Friday in front of the Dinamo stadium. The gendarmes (paramilitary force) intervened and the fans came into conflict with the police. Two gendarmes were hit at the Ştefan cel Mare metro station.”
Romania-based football journalist Emanuel Roşu had tweeted the video on October 2, 2020.
BREAKING: Fights between Dinamo, Steaua ultras and geandarmes at the metro in Bucharest minutes ago! Dinamo 2 vs Steaua game today in the 3rd tier! pic.twitter.com/uCeE5ZSYeL
— Emanuel Roşu (@Emishor) October 2, 2020
We also found one video on YouTube uploaded on October 2, 2020, with the title “Romania 02.10.2020: Clashes between hooligans and police in Bucharest.”
An unrelated video of clashes between football fans and police in Romania was falsely shared as an incident from Paris. It was claimed that Muslims entered a metro train in the city and began to spit at commuters. It is noteworthy that BJP’s Sandeep Thakur made a reference to past allegations on Muslims in India spreading the coronavirus through spitting. Alt News has debunked a plethora of videos shared with identical false claims after Nizamuddin emerged as a COVID-19 hotspot.
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