New Delhi: A short 15-second video clip, featuring a mob and two men who can be seen brandishing guns, has gone viral on the microblogging site Twitter. Users are purportedly claiming the video is of “jihadis of Kanpur”, openly firing with “state-of-the-art weapons”.
The video gained traction after the recent violence in Kanpur following derogatory remarks against The Prophet by BJP leaders Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal.
A twitter user, who has now deleted the tweet, first shared the video on 10 June 2022, with a caption that suggested it was from Kanpur in which “Muslims were firing indiscriminately”, while the police merely used tear gas to counter their attacks.
The video spread like wildfire, prompting several users to tag authorities and call for legal action against the “rioters”
देश के गृह मंत्रालय ने सभी राज्यों को निर्देश दिया था कि दंगा होने पर पैलेट गन का इस्तेमाल हो पर कानपुर में तो शांतिदूत अत्याधुनिक हथियारों से पुलिस पर फायरिंग कर रहे थे क्या इन शांतिदूत समुदाय के दंगाइयों पर कानूनी कार्रवाई होगी या नहीं@AmitShah @HMOIndia @Uppolice @dgpup pic.twitter.com/NlrLwgkEsx
— Rajput Singh🇮🇳🕉️🔱🔱 (@Hindu_ha_ham) June 11, 2022
Fact check: The video is in fact one year old and has resurfaced on the Internet now, falsely claiming to be a fresh incident. According to the original caption, the video was shot outside the Dhaura Tanda Police station in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh when violence broke out over a controversy on meat.
धौरा टांडा में गौ मांस को लेकर हुआ विवाद पुलिस ने की बड़ी कार्रवाई वीडियो वायरल @dgpup @igrangebareilly @bareillypolice @JitendraBlock @dadda_ramesh @ArunKum38709726 pic.twitter.com/c1dygj4SuK
— श्रमजीवी पत्रकार कल्याण एसोसिएशन (@Mohamma44011537) May 10, 2021
The altercation reportedly took place between Jaleesh Ahmed and Salim Qureshi, residents of Dhaura Tanda village in Bhojipura, Bareilly.
The report said Jaleesh Ahmed of the Banjara fraternity gave his shop on rent to Salim Qureshi and put a condition that he would sell meat fairly. It was alleged that Salim Qureshi increased the price of meat one Sunday from Rs 150 a kg to Rs 250. “There was a dispute when the Banjara community opposed this,” the report said.
Jaleesh Ahmed apparently reached the spot and asked Qureshi to vacate the shop. The report added that people of the Banjara community subsequently beat up Salim Qureshi. In retaliation, Qureshi’s family members fired in the air in the market.
Police records said the altercation was due to the difference in the price of the meat.
#bareillypolice
थाना भोजीपुरा क्षेत्रान्तर्गत दो पक्षों में मांस खरीदने को लेकर हुई मारपीट/घटना के सम्बन्ध पुलिस अधीक्षक ग्रामीण, जनपद बरेली की बाईट । #UPPolice @Uppolice @dgpup @adgzonebareilly @igrangebareilly pic.twitter.com/Zfk7TESC5p
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) May 9, 2021
BJP followers cash in
Many BJP followers and members shared the clip on Twitter, including Major Surendra Poonia, who has a following of close to six lakh users. He shared the video suggesting the incident happened on 10 June this year, but soon deleted his tweet : https://archive.is/hsf44
A news reporter of Sudarshan News posted the video with the caption: “These are the jihadis of Kanpur who were openly firing indiscriminately with state-of-the-art weapons and the police were only hurling tear gas shells.”
*ये हैं कानपुर के जिहादी जो खुल्लम खुल्ला अत्याधुनिक हथियारों से कर रहे था अंधाधुंध फायरिंग और पुलिस सिर्फ आंसू गैस के ही गोले छोड़ रहीं थी,इनका इलाज हैं सीधी गोली एक बार अगर दस बीस उड़ गए तो फिर ये लोग जल्दी से हिमाकत नहीं करेंगे😡* pic.twitter.com/mo8jhuvhhZ
— Santosh Chauhan Sudarshan News (@Santosh_Stv) June 11, 2022
A tweet by a defence analyst, sharing the video, garnered almost over 1.5K likes
ये हैं कानपुर के जिहादी जो खुल्लम खुल्ला अत्याधुनिक हथियारों से कर रहे था अंधाधुंध फायरिंग और पुलिस सिर्फ आंसू गैस के ही गोले छोड़ रहीं थी,इनका इलाज हैं सीधी गोली एक बार अगर दस बीस उड़ गए तो फिर ये लोग जल्दी से हिमाकत नहीं करेंगे. Via SM pic.twitter.com/BTJkCWerc1
— Rakesh Krishnan Simha (@ByRakeshSimha) June 11, 2022
(in collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer)
Also read: Qatar Airways CEO didn’t plead with Indian Twitter user to stop boycott call, it’s a spoof video