Sambhal remains gripped in a tensed atmosphere due to an ongoing dispute regarding the Shahi Jama Masjid. The controversy began when a petition was filed in a Sambhal court, claiming that this Mughal-era mosque was originally built in 1529 by Mughal emperor Babur after demolishing the Shri Hari Har temple. Following this, on November 19, the Sambhal court ordered a survey of the mosque, which was conducted on the same day by the survey team. The Muslim community protested against the survey. Despite these protests, the team reached the location for a second round of the survey. Angered by this, members of the Muslim community resorted to violence by pelting stones and setting vehicles on fire. The police responded by firing tear gas. Four people lost their lives in the violence, and about 30 policemen were injured.
Meanwhile, a video is going viral on X in which the police team is seen lathi-charging the mob. It is being claimed that the video is from Sambhal and the mob was neither pelting stones nor did they have any weapons, yet the police resorted to brutality and lathi-charged them.
The handle Tanvir Rangrez wrote, “Watch the brutality of @Uppolice in Sambhal in this video. The protesters were not pelting stones at anyone, nor were they resorting to violence. There was no stick, no weapon, no brick or stone visible in anyone’s hand Despite this, the police resorted to lathicharge. The violence did not happen just like that! Has violence been instigated?”
संभल में @Uppolice की बर्बरता इस वीडियो में देखिए।
— TANVIR RANGREZ (@virjust18) November 24, 2024
प्रदर्शनकारी किसी पर पथराव नहीं कर रहे थे, हिंसा नहीं कर रहे थे।
ना किसी के हाथ में कोई डंडा कोई हथियार कोई ईंट पत्थर दिखाई से रहा
इसके बावजूद पुलिस ने लाठी बरसा दी। हिंसा ऐसे ही नहीं हुई!
हिंसा कराई गई है? @India_NHRC… pic.twitter.com/Fqj2PzZ7Ib
Mohd Bilal Pasha asserted, “UP, Sambhal: Watch the police brutality in this video! Watch the video, the Muslim has neither a stone nor any weapon in his hand! They were just performing! But the police started raining blows with batons! Was this the same police maintaining silence in Bahraich?”
यूपी, संभल
— Mohd Bilal Pasha (@MohdBilalPasha5) November 25, 2024
इस वीडियो में पुलिस की बर्बरता देखिए!
वीडियो देखे, मुसलमान के हाथ में न पत्थर है, न कोई हथियार!
वे बस प्रदर्शन कर रहे थे!
पर पुलिस ने लाठी डंडे बरसाना शुरू कर दिया!
बहराइच में यही पुलिस मौन धारण की हुई थी?? pic.twitter.com/9QEqAx59nD
The video was also shared by other handles like Muhammadhashim Gatli, Sakil Mewati, and Mahfoozurahman.
Fact Check
In our fact-check research, we extracted key frames from the video and performed a reverse image search. This search led us to the same video posted four years ago on the YouTube channel Social Media News. According to the description and title, the 45-second clip shows police lathi-charging a crowd protesting against the CAA bill.
Further investigation led to another video shared on Facebook in 2020 by the user Judge Advocates Pidit Organization. This longer version of the viral video was shared with the caption suggesting police lathi charge during CAA protests in Uttar Pradesh.
Taking a cue from here, we ran a keyword search and found a video posted by Live Hindustan which carried similar visuals. The video dates back to December 20, 2019. According to the video description, after Friday prayers in Gorakhpur, some people came out at Ghantaghar Jama Masjid and were protesting with black bands tied on their hands. When the protesters reached near Nakhas Chowk, someone threw stones at them. After this, the mob started pelting stones from both sides on Nakhas Khunipur Road and Nakhas Reti Road. Police used tear gas to control the protesters.
In the next step, we compared the visuals in the Live Hindustan video and the viral video. We found some similarities in both the videos, which proves that the viral video is related to the CAA protest that took place in Gorakhpur in 2019. The video shared by Live Hindustan captures the same police lathi charge from a different angle.
Apart from this, we found a report of etv dated December 20, 2019, in which similar visual of viral video was seen. According to the report, after the Friday morning prayers in Gorakhpur, the worshippers came out of the mosque in Nakhas of the district and started protesting against the CAA. During this, the mob created a ruckus and pelted stones at the police. The Additional SP’s car was also pelted with stones. This broke the glass of the car and policemen were also injured in the stone pelting. To control the situation, the police lathi-charged and also used tear gas on the mob.
Therefore, the video showing police lathi-charging a mob is four years old and is from the anti-CAA protests in Gorakhpur. The video has nothing to do with the recent Sambhal violence.
| Claim | This video of lathicharge on rioters is not from Sambhal. |
| Claimed by | Social media users |
| Fact Check | This video is not from Sambhal, UP. This video was uploaded on a YouTube channel on 20 December 2019, in which the police is seen lathi-charging the anti-CAA protesters. |
Also Read: Old Video shared With False Claim of Sikh Man Lynched by Hindus in Uttar Pradesh
