Fact-check: Did Ujjain police demolish houses of those accused of chanting ‘Pak Zindabad’?

Madhya Pradesh police recently arrested 10 youths, four of whom were booked under the National Security Act (NSA), for allegedly raising ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans at a Taziya function in Ujjain. Alt News’s fact-check of the viral videos used to claim that the chants were raised found that ‘Qazi Saab Zindabad’ was heard, not pro-Pakistan slogans.

Meanwhile, a video of a settlement being razed by bulldozers is being circulated with the claim that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered the demolition of a settlement housing those who had allegedly raised the slogans. Dr Richa Rajput, social media head of BJYM UP, made a similar claim while tweeting the video. It amassed more than 78,000 views at the time of writing. (Archive link)

उज्जैन में जिस गफूर बस्ती के लोगो ने पाकिस्तान जिंदाबाद का नारा लगाया था,, शिवराज सरकार ⁦@ChouhanShivraj⁩ ने पूरी अवैध बस्ती खाली करवा दी.

जय हिंद🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/93hxW2KdXW

— Dr. Richa Rajpoot (@doctorrichabjp) August 27, 2021

Twitter handle @Himmu06147024 also shared the clip and accompanying claim. (Archive link)

*उज्जैन में उड़ा दिए घर*
*पाकिस्तान जिंदाबाद* *तालिबान जिंदाबाद के नारे लगाने वाले देशद्रोहियों के*
जय हो मामा जी
जय हो नरोत्तम मिश्रा जी🙏🏻🙏🏻🚩🚩 pic.twitter.com/8LiLSngY7s

— Hiम्मू सोNi (@Himmu06147024) August 27, 2021

Facebook page ‘बकलोली’ (Bakloli) garnered 5,400 views for the video as of this writing. (Archive link)

From Facebook to Twitter, the video is viral. Alt News received numerous requests to verify it on our WhatsApp helpline number.

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Fact-check

In the absence of reports supporting the claim, Alt News suspected that the video might be depicting illegal encroachment being removed. We performed a keyword search based on this, which led to a few media reports related to one such incident. On August 27, Zee News had reported that the district administration had removed shops built illegally on land worth crores in Ujjain. About 200 shops were torn down in this demolition drive carried out as part of the Ujjain Smart City Project. This article clearly states that the structures were demolished as per an order of the High Court.

The report also said that the work is underway as part of the Smart City Project to enlarge Ujjain’s famous Mahakal temple by 10 times. The High Court had ordered the demolition drive to raze all the illegal encroachments and shops on Mahakal Marg. In its order, it said that those who were settled in the encroached area should first be informed and they should be given a notice of 45 days to vacate the premises. In line with this, the district administration had issued a 45-day notice to the illegal occupants. “The administration removed illegal shops built on two and a half hectares of land. The value of this land is several crores,” said Zee News.

On August 27, AV News had also published a report on the incident, accompanied by a photo of the encroachments being demolished.

A hoarding of a hotel can be seen at the 1:14 mark of the viral video which reads ‘Hotel President‘. A search on Google Maps revealed that this hotel is located on the Hari Phatak Over Bridge in Ujjain.

Alt News also reached out to Ujjain SP Satyendra Kumar Shukla for more information. “The removal of the encroachments has nothing to do with people raising anti-national slogans. These are two separate incidents. The removal of these illegal constructions was carried out under the authority of the Municipal Corporation. The police department had also given us their cooperation in the matter,” he said.

To sum it up, a video depicting the removal of illegal encroachments in Ujjain was recently shared as visuals of the punitive action taken against people who allegedly raised ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans in Ujjain. There is no connection between both incidents. It may be reiterated that Alt News had analysed the viral videos on the basis of which media reports claimed ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans were raised but we could hear chants of ‘Qazi Saab Zindabad’ instead.