A false report claiming a Muslim man was assaulted by a Hindu mob in an incident of religious hate crime in India has been circulated with a video that depicts a crowd of people beating a man.
Verified accounts on twitter, including @stairwayto3dom claimed in a twitter post that the Muslim man was beaten by a mob because of his religion in India.
What is the Actual Truth About this Incident? : Fact
In actuality, this is an old footage from Madhya Pradesh showing how residents beat up a bangle seller who had molested a young girl in Indore in 2021 while posing as someone else. He claimed to be a Hindu man named Mohan Singh, but his true name was Taslim, also known as Aslim. He was the subject of a prosecution filed under certain provisions of the Pocso Act for molesting a minor girl. It is unrelated to hate crimes based on religion.
The official account of @timesofindia tweeted “Indore: Mob thrashes bangle seller for using ‘fake identity’” on August 24, 2021. This shows that the incident is not recent at all.
Indore: Mob thrashes bangle seller for using 'fake identity' https://t.co/gqkS2pQyv2 pic.twitter.com/u9fO7nVFwJ
— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) August 24, 2021
We visited Times of India, which published an article on this incident on August 24, 2021 with the headline “Indore: Mob thrashes bangle seller for using ‘fake identity’ “. The 25-year old Bangle seller used a fake name while selling his goods to the woman. The bangle seller is also accused of forging identification documents. Alongwith him, two Aadhar cards were found. Police found three ID cards with him in the name of Tasleem, Asleem and Bhura. The bangle seller was beaten by mob when he was peddling his wares. On the other hand, he claims that the attackers took away all his bangles and money. For more clarification, we went to India Today, which posted about this on August 23, 2021 with the heading “Bangle seller thrashed in Indore, assailants claim he was molesting women customers”. A viral video shows a group of people bashing and abusing a youth in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, accusing him of molesting women in the name of selling bangles. Police have refuted claims of a cover-up, claiming they took immediate action after learning of the occurrence. Some sources, however, claim that no complaint was filed until after protesters gathered outside the Kotwali police station calling for the perpetrators to be held accountable.The victim stated that he was attacked in the Banganga area when he was selling bangles. The bagle seller made a complaint to the police that the attackers robbed Rs 10,000/- from him and stole his bangles as well. A FIR against unknown persons has been registered on the basis of the victim’s complaint after verifying the veracity of the video. India Today posted about this on August 25, 2021 with the headline “Indore bangle seller, who was thrashed by mob, arrested in molestation case” as well. The crowd in Indore violently beat Tasleem Ali, the bangle vendor, and a video of the incident went viral on social media. According to Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra, the argument started when the man sold bangles to women pretending to be Hindu. Later on though, Tasleem Ali was charged with under sections of the POCSO Act for allegedly making inappropriate physical contact with a 13-year-old girl. Tasleem Ali was further charged with having forged identity-related documents. The victim further stated that on August 22, at 2:00 pm, she and her mother were at their house when the accused arrived to sell bangles. She notified the police on August 23 at 5:49 p.m., according to the FIR.
D-Intent’s Fact-Checking Results:
1747
— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) March 18, 2024
ANALYSIS: Misleading
FACT: A video that shows a group of people thrashing a guy has been shared with a misleading claim that a Muslim man was assaulted by a Hindu mob in a religious hate crime incident in India.The fact is that this is an old video from Madhya Pradesh (1/3) pic.twitter.com/RvEjTyCDFt
Intent:
Paid propaganda accounts are circulating old videos with false claims to set their propaganda against India and defend criminal activities. A video that shows a group of people thrashing a guy has been shared with a misleading claim that a Muslim man was assaulted by a Hindu mob in a religious hate crime incident in India. This old video, which was taken in Indore, Madhya Pradesh in 2021, shows a bangles seller being physically assaulted by locals for adopting a false identity and harassing a young girl. Though he claimed to be a Hindu guy named Mohan Singh, his true name was Taslim alias Aslim. In response to his molestation of a young child, a lawsuit was filed under certain provisions of the Pocso Act. Hatred based on religion has no bearing on this.
Conclusion:
Claim : A video of a mob beating a man has gone viral, accompanied by a false report claiming a Muslim man was attacked by a Hindu mob in an incident of religious hate crime in India.
Fact : The fact is that this is an old video from Madhya Pradesh where a bangles seller was beaten up by locals for using a fake identity and molesting a minor girl in Indore, 2021. His real name was Taslim alias Aslim, but he pretended to be a Hindu man named Mohan Singh. A case was registered against him under sections of the Pocso Act for molesting a minor girl. It has nothing to do with religious hate crime.
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