A viral video of a mosque being demolished by a bulldozer on a busy street is doing the rounds on social media. Many users have shared the video claiming that the mosque was hoisting a Pakistani flag, so the Yogi Adityanath government demolished it entirely. The location of the mosque is said to be Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh.
A Facebook user posted the viral video with a caption: *योगी बाबा के राज्य में, सैदाबाद प्रयागराज( उ0प्र)* *मस्जिद पर पाकिस्तान का झंडा लहराने पर योगी ने मस्जिद ही उखड़वादी* (English translation: *In the state of Yogi Baba, Saidabad Prayagraj (U.P)* *On hoisting Pakistan’s flag on the mosque, Yogi uprooted the mosque itself*)
You can check the post here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the viral video, and found it to be misleading.
Running a Google Keyword Search of the viral incident, we traced an article in Dainik Bhaskar, dated January 10, 2023 and titled: हंडिया में शाही मस्जिद का हुआ ध्वस्तीकरण:शेरशाह सूरी के समय में हुआ था निर्माण, लोक निर्माण विभाग की मौजूदगी में की गई कार्रवाई. The picture in the article somewhat resembles the mosque in the viral video.
According to the article, the mosque in the picture is Shahi Masjid, which was built during the time of Sher Shah Suri in Saidabad market under Handia tehsil in Prayagraj. The mosque was built on GT Road, which is widened by the Public Works Department (PWD), so the mosque authorities were given notice for demolition. To save the Shahi mosque, the local people appealed to the High Court, from where a civil suit was filed.
A similar news report was found in Hindustan.
Searching further about the issue, we identified a tweet by Ahmed Khabeer, Editor of the Jamia Times — an independent media initiative based out of Delhi, dated January 14, 2023.
The video in the tweet matches exactly with the viral clip, and the caption further confirms that it was demolished to widen the GT road.
Also, a tweet by the official account of Police Commissionerate Prayagraj, dated January 15, 2023, gives full details of the mosque’s demolition. The tweet corroborates the claims that the mosque was demolished by PWD for widening the GT road.
Therefore, we can conclusively say that the viral video claiming that a mosque in Prayagraj was demolished for hoisting a Pakistani flag is misleading.
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