A commission was appointed by a court in Varanasi to conduct a survey of the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi Mosque complex in Uttar Pradesh. The survey started on April 26, 2022. Before the survey began, many people offered namaz at the Gyanvapi mosque, and when the survey team entered the complex, around 50 people started protesting. In response, Hindu groups mobilised and chanted religious slogans, raising tensions in the area. Police finally removed the protesters.
In the above context, many social media users are sharing a video of police using batons against some people. The video is shared with a caption hinting that it shows police beating those protesting against the Gyanvyapi mosque survey.
The caption associated with the video reads: “बोल रहे थे ज्ञानवापी में सर्वे नहीं होने देंगे फिर क्या था उ.प्र. पुलिस सुजाने मे इतना टाइम नहीं लगाती है.” (English translation: They were saying that surveys will not be allowed in Gyanvapi,, but UP police don’t take that much time — to take action.)
The link to the post can be seen here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile did the fact-check, and found the claim to be misleading.
On doing a Google Reverse Image Search with one of the keyframes of the viral video, we found a similar image was shared by Navbharat Times on July 5, 2021. The report associated with the video said that police lathi-charged Samajwadi Party workers. The workers were protesting against the favours the administration had allegedly extended to the ruling party candidates during the Zila Panchayat elections in UP.
We also found that the same video was uploaded by the official Twitter handle of the Samajwadi Party on July 3, 2021, with a caption: “प्रयागराज में मुख्यमंत्री के आदेश पर सपा कार्यकर्ताओं पर पुलिस का बर्बर लाठीचार्ज घोर निंदनीय! सत्ता के दमन से मिली जीत का खोखला जश्न ज्यादा दिन तक न चल पाएगा। प्रदेश का युवा, किसान, महिलाएं, बेटियां 2022 में सपा सरकार बनायेंगे।” (English translation: The barbaric lathi charge of police on SP workers on the orders of UP chief minister in Prayagraj is highly condemnable! The hollow celebration of victory achieved by suppression of power will not last long. The youth, farmers, women, and daughters of the state will form the SP government in 2022.)
Hence, it can be concluded that the video is quite old and is widely being shared with misleading claims.
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