A video has been circulating that depicts protestors removing a flag from a government building and replacing it with another. It has been claimed that Meitei protestors removed the Indian flag from the DC office in Thoubal. And replaced it with a Salai Taret, a Meitei secessionist flag. However, these claims are false. The police have clarified that the student protestors were actually attempting to replace an old and worn-out Salai Taret (a seven-colored flag) that was displayed on the outside gate of the DC office in Thoubal.
Sharing the visuals on X (Formerly Twitter) Sundar Patel Kapur ( @VoiceofHelpless) wrote. Shockingly, students who disrespected the Indian flag by hoisting the Meitei radical flag (Salai Taret) were assisted by Manipur police personnel. Who even provided them with drinking water. This is an insult to the Nation and unacceptable.
Zomi Students’ Federation, Delhi (@zsfD_official) also shared the and wrote. “Meitei Students and The State Sponsored Militant Arambai Tengol Replacing The Indian Flag Hoisting their Kangleipak Flag for the Second time at The DC Office at Thoubal Dist: Manipur India”.
Other users, influencers and propagandists have also shared the visuals and made similar claims. Their posts can be seen here @Jekhumary, @Tahmina62344037
The truth about the viral video shared as Meitei people, Fact Check
As soon as the posts containing the visuals and claims came to our notice. Subsequently, we conducted research and analysis of the incident and found that these claims about the Indian flag were not true.
To verify the claims made by the users. We performed a relevant keyword search. This led us to a police statement regarding the incident. Manipur Police statement reads, “There were certain social media reports that student protestors replace National Flag at DC office in Thoubal. The report is fake. The student protestors tried to replace an old and worn-out Salai Taret (7-coloured flag) which was on the outside gate of the DC office, Thoubal. Subsequently, both the flags were removed from the gate after the mob was dispersed by the police”
We also discovered a detailed analysis of the video on the India TodayNE YouTube channel. According to India TodayNE, The video claiming that student protestors have taken down the National Flag at Thoubal DC office turns out to be false. The truth is they were replacing the old Salai Taret flag with a new one at the gate of the said office.
During the research, we also found old images on Google Maps. The old photos of that gate clearly showed that no Indian flag was present by default.
source internet
Therefore, it is evident from verified sources that the Indian flag was not replaced with the Meitei secessionist flag. But the students replaced another flag with the Salai Taret flag at the outside gate of the DC office in Thoubal. Later, the police removed both flags.
Intent
Social media users, influencers and propagandists are circulating videos from Manipur unrest. Making misleading claims to set their narrative and fuel the violence in the state.
Conclusion
Claim– Meitei students replaced the Indian national flag with the Salai Taret flag at the DC office in Thoubal.
Fact– The student protestors tried to replace an old and worn out Salai Taret (7-coloured flag). Which was on the outside gate of the DC office, Thoubal. Additionally, both the flags were removed from the gate after the police dispersed the mob.
Related Article: Mob violence from Bishkek falsely linked to Manipur violence (dintentdata.com)
