Video from Rajasthan falsely shared as that of accused in UP ‘molestation’ incident that led to Class XI girl’s death

An incident of alleged molestation leading to a girl’s death recently came to light in Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. A group of miscreants reportedly snatched the stole (‘dupatta’) of a Class 11 student riding a bicycle to her home from school. As a result, the student lost her balance and fell on the road. She was fatally hit by a bike that was coming from behind.

Three accused, namely Arbaaz, Faisal. and Shahbaz, were arrested. According to Uttar Pradesh police, when the three were being taken for medical examination, they asked for the bus to be stopped so they could relieve themselves. At that time, they snatched the rifle of a police officer and tried to run away, when other cops shot at them. Two of the accused were shot in the leg and the third sustained a broken leg in their attempt to escape. All three were taken to the hospital for treatment.

It is against this backdrop that a video is doing the rounds on social media. The footage shows three young men dragging themselves on the ground. All three are wearing a plaster cast on their leg while a policeman in uniform is seen standing in the background. It has been claimed that the trio are none other than the miscreants Shahbaz, Faisal, and Arbaaz who were arrested for molesting a student in Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh and later got injured when they tried to flee.

While sharing the video on X (formerly Twitter), Richa Rajpoot, social media head of BJP youth wing Uttar Pradesh, claimed that the clip was from Uttar Pradesh and the young men seen crawling on the ground in the video are Shahbaz and Arbaaz, accused of pulling the dupatta of a minor female student in Ambedkar Nagar. (Archived link)

कानून तो पहले भी था,
राजदंड किसके हाथ में है ये मायने रखता है!!

ये वही जाहिल जिहादी शाहबाज़ और अरबाज है जिसके दुप्पटा खींचने से अंबेडकर नगर में हमारी नाबालिग हिन्दू बेटी को जान गवानी पड़ी है ….गिद्धों की क़ौम आई नहीं छाती पीटने क्योंकि एजेंडा नहीं सेट हो रहा !! pic.twitter.com/o1G11uu7RO

— Dr. Richa Rajpoot (@doctorrichabjp) September 23, 2023

Readers should note that Richa Rajpoot has been found repeatedly sharing misinformation on social media.

BJP supporter Monika Langeh also shared the video with the same claim. (Archived link)

A user named Sujeet Swami also shared the video claiming it was taken in Uttar Pradesh. (Archived link)

Fact Check

We performed a reverse image search using frames taken from the viral footage. This led us to a video uploaded on a Facebook page titled News Express on September 18. The caption states that the police had arrested the three main accused in the murder of Bharatpur history-sheeter Ajay Jhamri. The accused were shot in the leg.

Alt News then performed a keyword searching using related keywords on YouTube. We found a report on the YouTube channel of First India News covering the Ajay Jhamri murder case. Scenes from the viral video can be found in this report. The report states that police arrested the three accused in an encounter. This video features the same three main accused.

We also came across an article published by Dainik Bhaskar on September 6 of this year regarding the arrest and encounter of the accused in the Ajay Jhamri murder case. According to this report, on August 27, history-sheeter Ajay Jhamri was shot dead in Bharatpur. Rajasthan police arrested the alleged assailants from Dehradun. SP Mridul Kachhawa stated that a special team had reached Bharatpur with the trio after arresting them from Dehradun. While they were being handed over to the Atalband police station, one of the accused named Tejveer snatched the pistol of DST Constable Jagdish and tried to flee. When the police chased them, the accused fired the pistol at the police team in-charge Mukesh and the bullet hit him in the chest. However, he narrowly escaped because he was wearing a bulletproof jacket. During retaliatory firing, the police shot the three miscreants Tejveer, Yuvraj and Bunty Khushal in both their legs. After this, they were admitted to the RBM Hospital in Bharatpur. The picture of the three is also included in this report. On comparing these pictures with the viral video, it is evident that it is the same three young men. This confirms that the video is not from Uttar Pradesh, but from Rajasthan.

This can be seen more clearly in the graphic given below. The accused seen in the viral video is the same person who is pictured lying on the hospital bed in the Dainik Bhaskar report.

A statement by Bharatpur SP Mridul Kachhawa is also included in the video report of Dainik Bhaskar.

To sum it up, a number of social media users falsely shared a video of the three accused in the Ajay Jhamri murder case (Tejveer, Yuvraj, Bunty Kaushal) from Bharatpur writhing on the ground as footage of Arbaaz, Faisal, and Shahbaz, accused of molesting a minor girl in Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, leading to her death.