A sensitive image depicting a severely injured individual on a stretcher receiving medical treatment has been circulated on social media with the claim that Rahmatullah, a member of a minority community, posted a nude picture of a Hindu goddess on social media, which allegedly prompted an attack by a mentally ill youth named Naveen in Mewat, Haryana, resulting in Rahmatullah’s death. However, D-Intent Data has found that this is an old image from Karnataka and was unrelated to a religious hate crime.
Sharing the image on X (Formerly Twitter), @ocjain4 wrote, “Peace-loving Rahmatullah of Haryana’s Mewat had made the nude photo of Maa Sita viral on social media, then a mentally ill youth Naveen attacked him, now this Rahmatullah is resting in the graveyard”. The post has received more than 500k views, 17k likes, 3.5k reposts and a significant number of engagements.
Several other users and influencers have also shared the image and made similar communal claims. Their posts can be seen here, @masih_reemaa, @shauryabjym
The truth about the viral image of injured individual, Fact Check
As soon as the posts containing the image of an injured individual and claims came to our notice. Instantly, we conducted research and analysis of the image and found that this image was not from Haryana. But an old image from Karnataka and had nothing to do with social media posts or hate crime.
To verify the claims made by the users. Subsequently, we performed a reverse image search on Google Lens. This led us to initial posts containing the same image uploaded in July 2022. According to the initial posts the image is from Chitradurga, Karnataka. Where a man named Samiulla was injured in a stabbing attack. Taking a cue from the initial posts. We performed a relevant keyword search on Google which led us to media reports and police statement regarding the incident. According to the media reports, This is an old image from Chitradurga, Karnataka where a man named Samiulla was attacked with a knife by Nutan under the influence of alcohol in July 2022. This violent act had no connection to any social media posts about Maa Sita. Furthermore, Samiulla was not killed in the attack; he survived and recovered from his injuries.
Hence, it is evident from D-Intent Data’s Fact Check that the viral image is not recent and has nothing to do with Haryana and killing for social media posts about Hindu goddesses.
Intent
Social media users, influencers and propagandists are circulating old images with misleading claims to set their narrative based on religion.
Conclusion
Claim– A man named Rahmatullah was killed for making offensive social media posts about Hindu goddess Maa Sita in Mewat, Haryana.
Fact– This is an old image from Karnataka’s Chitradurga. Where a man was injured in a stabbing attack in July 2022.
Related Article: Fact Check: An old image of a man attacking a naked female statue in Algeria was falsely shared as France – D-Intent Data (dintentdata.com)
