An image of few policemen cleaning up a place has gone viral on social media, claiming that Police are cleaning a mosque for namaaz in West Bengal.
The text associated with the picture reads: आपने कभी पुलिस को देखा है मन्दिर साफ करते हुए ? नहीं न? बंगाल की पुलिस मस्जिद साफ कर रही है नमाज के लिए और मुसलमान इस फोटो को फॉरवर्ड कर के ये बोल रहे है को देखो हिंदुवो और भारत के पुलिस की औकात आप भी देखिये और इस पोस्ट को फैला दीजिए…लोगों को भी पता चले को ममता बनर्जी के राज्य में पुलिस की इतनी ही औकात है! भगवान ही मलिक है हिन्दूवो का और इस देश का।(English translation: Have you ever seen the police cleaning the temple? No? The police of Bengal are cleaning the Masjid for namaz and Muslims are forwarding this photo and saying, look at the status of Hindus and the police of India. God is the master of Hindus and of this country.)
Here’s the link to the above post.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be misleading.
Doing a Reverse Image Search, the NM team found the same image on social media since 2017. A TinEye Reverse Image Search finds some people sharing this photo by describing it as being from Hyderabad in Telangana.
Looking closely at the image, we noticed the insignia on the cop’s uniform that belongs to Telangana Police.
We also found a board of “SK TOYS” in the image. Searching on Google with keywords, we found a shop named “SK TOYS” in Bhainsa, Telangana. The board seen in the image of the shop on Google matches with the board in the viral photo. According to the information on Just Dial, “SK TOYS” is located near “Panjeshah Mosque”.
Searching further, we found the same image uploaded on Facebook on June 18, 2016, claiming that it shows Bhainsa police cleaning the Panjeshah Mosque during Ramzaan.
Telangana Police also posted similar images on June 20, 2016, stating “The DSP Bhainsa, CI Mudhole, SIs Tanoor, Lokeshwaram & Mudhole conducted Swatch Bharath programme and clean the Temples and Mosques and planted plants at Mudhole.”
Thus, it is clear that an old image from Telangana is falsely shared as West Bengal Police cleaning a mosque.
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