By Anmol Alphonso
An old and unrelated video from last year of a group of Muslim men sloganeering during a Hanuman Shobha Yatra procession passing outside a mosque in Nellore, Andra Pradesh is being shared with the false claim that it shows Muslims in Mumbai disturbing a recent rally held by Hindutva outfits on January 29, 2023.
Sakal Hindu Samaj, an umbrella body of Hindu organisations, held the Mumbai chapter of the Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha on January 29, 2023, with provocative calls for a boycott of goods from shops owned by the Muslim community, laws against religious conversions and alleged ‘love jihad’ in Maharashtra. This rally was attended by several top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction who are part of the Maharashtra government.
In the video, a group of Muslim men with skull caps can be seen sloganeering with chants like ''allah u akbar" as a Hindu procession is seen passing by on the road.
The viral video is being shared with the caption when translated reads, "In Maharashtra Shantidoot (Jihadi) tried to disrupt the Hindutva rally. Due to the promptness of the administration, Hindu-Muslim riots were saved. But the seculars will continue to see him as a messenger of peace."
(In Hindi - #महाराष्ट्र में शांतिदूत ( #जिहादी ) हिंदुत्व की रैली में विघन डालने का प्रयास करने की कोशिश की। प्रशासन की मुस्तैदी से हिन्दू मुस्लिम दंगा होने से बच गया। लेकिन सेकुलरो को यह शांति दूत की दिखते रहेंगे)
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The same video is also being shared widely on Facebook with the false claim.
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Also Read: Old BBC Screenshot Of Indian Map Without J&K Revived Amid Docu Row
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video is from April 2022 in Nellore, Andra Pradesh, and not a recent video from Mumbai, Maharashtra during the Hindu Jan Aakrosh Morcha rally held by Hindutva outfits on January 29, 2023.
Taking cues from the viral video and running a reverse image search we found that the viral video is from Nellore, Andra Pradesh in April 2022 during a Hanuman Shobha Yatra that was passing by a mosque when a group of Mulsim youngsters inside the mosque chanted 'Allahu Akbar'.
The video was reported byseveral media outlets citing tweets from BJP leaders claiming that stones and bottles were pelted during a ‘Hanuman Sobha Yatra’ from inside the mosque seen in the viral video. However, this claim of stones and bottles being thrown from inside the mosque was refuted by Superintendent of Nellore Ch Vijayao Rao who told The Quint back then that the march was conducted peacefully.
The Quint reported on April 27, 2022, quoting SP Rao who refuted the claim stating, "At one point, they crossed a mosque. When it reached the mosque, the DJ was made a little louder and bike horns were made. Slogans of 'Jai Shri Ram' were chanted. The youth inside the mosque also said 'Allahu Akbar'. Except for that, there was no throwing of stones or bottles, and no clashes. No such instances happened."
The visuals in the viral video match the video in the news report below.
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