New Delhi: A Muslim tanga (horse-pulled rickshaw) driver from Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow was forced to chant ‘Jai Hind‘ and ‘Pakistan murdabad‘ after he allegedly painted a Pakistani flag on his rickshaw. The driver has also been accused of chanting the slogan ‘Pakistan zindabad‘
In an over 2-minute-long video, which has gone viral, driver Noor Alam was confronted by an unidentified man about the Pakistani flag painted on his rickshaw. In response, Alam can be heard saying: “I never paid attention, it has been painted on the carriage like this for more than 20 years now.”
The video was posted by a Twitter account called ‘Kreately.in’ and has garnered over 1,400 likes and has been retweeted more than 1,300 times.
'हां हमने झंडा लगा रखा है,हम तो पाकिस्तान जिंदाबाद भी बोलेंगे..'
यह वीडियो सोशल मीडिया से मिला है, जिसका पता "तेलीबाग" है..नूर आलम नामक व्यक्ति ने तांगे पर पाकिस्तान का लगा झंडा लगा रखा है, कृपया मामला संज्ञान में लेकर उचित कार्रवाई करें.? @Uppolice @lkopolice pic.twitter.com/c46vci7JEF
— Kreately.in (@KreatelyMedia) August 26, 2021
Alam was then forced to say ‘Jai Hind’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.
In another video, the driver could be seen with an Indian flag on the tanga chanting ‘Hindustan zindabad’.
— Pawan Tiwari?? ?? (@pawan_pawant) August 25, 2021
Fact-check
Several media outlets, including Amar Ujala and Dainik Jagran, reported that Alam chanted ‘Pakistan zindabad’.
However, in the viral video Alam can only be seen refusing to say ‘Pakistan murdabad’ but he doesn’t say ‘Pakistan zindabad’ at any point.
Furthermore, the rickshaw also does not sport Pakistan’s flag, but a crudely painted star and crescent moon on a dark green backdrop, which are symbols of Islam. Pakistan’s flag has a horizontal white stripe on its left, which was not painted on Alam’s rickshaw.
A police officer from Lucknow, who wished to remain unnamed, told SM Hoaxslayer: “I’ve known the driver for a while, he sometimes helps the police with Durga Pooja celebrations as well. He’s a poor chap, and hasn’t been able to buy himself a tempo like his peers. The issue was blown out of proportion after powerful people, including the MLA, visited and forced him to put an Indian flag on his tanga. It is an Islamic flag and not a Pakistani flag.”
The officer added that the matter was put to rest after the police spoke to both the driver and those who had complained against him.
In collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer
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