A video depicting a group of people parading an elderly man with a blackened face and wearing a garland of shoes has gone viral, drawing attention to the victim’s religious identity and portraying the incident as a hate crime against religion.
@HateDetectors tweeted in a twitter post that in a horrifying incident in Siddharthnagar, Uttar Pradesh, an elderly Muslim man was paraded after his face blackened with ink and was forced to wear a garland of shoes around his neck. In addition, they recorded the event, which went viral on social media. The tweet was made on Dec 9, 2023, which has received an about 756.1k views on X.
Humanity was put to shame in #UttarPradesh where all the limits of decency were broken while punishing an elderly man.
— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) December 9, 2023
In a horrific incident, an elderly #Muslim man was paraded after face blackened with ink and made to wear a garland of shoes around his neck in Uttar Pradesh's… pic.twitter.com/zoO9VvWdtD
@iamharunkhan also made the same claim by tweeting “A elderly Muslim man was paraded after face blackened with ink & made to wear a garland of shoes around his neck in UP’s #Siddharthnagar. -He was also made to spit and lick it and a video of making him do sit-ups was made viral on social media.”
A elderly Muslim man was paraded after face blackened with ink & made to wear a garland of shoes around his neck in UP's #Siddharthnagar.
— هارون خان (@iamharunkhan) December 9, 2023
-He was also made to spit and lick it and a video of making him do sit-ups was made viral on social media. pic.twitter.com/JaSbg9YMhi
The user also tweeted “Report- his name “Mohabbat Ali”. -The bullies accused the victim of asking the women of the village to talk him and also distributed his mobile number to the women of the village. -Police arrested all the FOUR accused in connection with the matter.” on Dec 9, 2023.
Report- his name "Mohabbat Ali".
— هارون خان (@iamharunkhan) December 9, 2023
-The bullies accused the victim of asking the women of the village to talk him and also distributed his mobile number to the women of the village.
-Police arrested all the FOUR accused in connection with the matter. https://t.co/QySbCWG2ez
Several other accounts, including Ali Sohrab (“@007AliSohrab“), @IAMCHindi, Fizza Rizvi (“@FizzaRizvi92“), Siraj Noorani (“@sirajnoorani“), Muhammad Zubair (Parody) (“@MhdZubair_“), Raza Khan (“@Raza_AKhan“), Wasim Akram Tyagi (“@WasimAkramTyagi“), The Muslim (“@TheMuslim786“), Sachin Gupta (“@SachinGuptaUP“), Ashraf Hussain (“@AshrafFem“), TRUE STORY (“@TrueStoryUP“), Harris Sultan (“@TheHarrisSultan“), Waris Pathan (“@warispathan“), Crime Reports India (“@AsianDigest“) also made the same claim that it is a Uttar Pradesh video, where a sixty-year-old man was beaten, had his face blackened, had a garland of slippers around his neck, was paraded through the village and forced to spit. Accused Zafar, Ghanshyam Tiwari, Akhilesh Sahni, and Aman Pandey were all imprisoned. The archive can be read from above.
What is the Actual Truth About this Video? : Fact
The truth is that he used to call up a girl from a nearby village and engage her in inappropriate conversation; reportedly, this led to him being punished by the villagers. The names of the accused are Ghanshyam Tiwari, Akhilesh Sahni, Aman Pandey, and Zafar, according to the reports. Thus, one of the accused belongs to the minority community as well. The accused has been taken into custody by police, and more action is being taken.
We visited Times of India, which published an article on this incident with the headline “76-year-old UP man’s face blackened, paraded, 4 held” on Dec 9, 2023. This article clarified all the details about this incident.
Siddharthnagar Police (“@siddharthnagpol“) tweeted “Publication of commendable work done by the district police in daily newspapers dated 09.12.2023 #UPPolice #UPPoliceInNews #Siddharthnagar_police_in_news” on Dec 9, 2023.
जनपदीय पुलिस द्वारा किये गये सराहनीय कार्यों का दैनिक समाचार पत्रों में प्रकाशन दिनांक 09.12.2023#UPPolice#UPPoliceInNews#Siddharthnagar_police_in_news pic.twitter.com/pkkrRFeYUI
— Siddharthnagar Police (@siddharthnagpol) December 9, 2023
D-Intent’s Fact-Checking Results:
1411
— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) December 9, 2023
ANALYSIS: Misleading
FACT: A video that shows a group of people parading an elderly man whose face blackened and wearing a garland of shoes has been shared, highlighting the religious identity of the victim and projecting it as a religious hate crime. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/g0SgM77GK0
Intent:
Religious hate Propaganda accounts are circulating videos with false claims to set their religious propaganda. The victim’s religious identity is highlighted and the incident is being reported as a religious hate crime in a video that shows a group of people parading an elderly man with a blackened face and wearing a garland of shoes. After proper research, analysis and fact-checking, we have discovered that in actuality, he was reportedly punished by the villagers because he would call up a girl from a neighbouring village and engage her in inappropriate conversation. According to the reports, Zafar, Aman Pandey, Akhilesh Sahni, and Ghanshyam Tiwari are the names of the accused. Thus, one of the accused is a member of the minority community as well. The accused has been taken into custody by the police, and more action is forthcoming.
Conclusion:
Claim : The incident has been reported as a religious hate crime, highlighting the victim’s religious identity through a video depicting a group of people parading an elderly man with a blackened face and wearing a garland of shoes.
Fact : The truth is that he was reportedly punished by the villagers because he would call up a girl from a neighbouring village and engage her in inappropriate conversation. Zafar, Aman Pandey, Akhilesh Sahni, and Ghanshyam Tiwari are the names of the accused, according to the reports. Therefore, one of the accused is a member of a minority community. The accused is being held by the police, and more action is being taken.
