Fact Check: Old Video of Anti-CAA Protests in Gorakhpur Wrongly Shared as Sambhal Unrest

Protests against a mosque survey in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district turned violent on November 24. At least four people have reportedly been killed and dozens injured so far.

On the morning of November 24, a group of court-appointed lawyers approached the Shahi Jama Masjid for an inquiry following a petition claiming that the Mughal-era mosque was built after the demolition of a temple on the site. This sparked protests from local Muslim residents, resulting in clashes with police.

A video which is now going viral is said to show the lathi-charging protesters of the Sambhal police.

The viral clip shows a large group of people being beaten up by police officers in an alley. Many can be seen wearing skull caps. Sharing the videowrote an An archive of the message can be seen here.

India Today Fact Check revealed that the viral clip is neither from Sambhal nor recent. The December 2019 video from Gorakhpur shows police lathi-charging anti-CAA protesters.

OUR PROBE

A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral clip led us to the same video published by a YouTube channel in March 2020, clarifying that this is not due to the recent clashes in Sambhal.

WHERE IS THE VIDEO FROM?

In the video we saw different shops and their names written on the signs. We looked up these names Google Maps and discovered that the video is from the Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh, which is over 400 miles from Sambhal. As seen on Google Maps, this area is Nakhas Chowk in Gorakhpur. Below is a comparison of a store from the viral clip and Google Maps Street View.

With the help of this clue we found various news items which contained the viral clip and other videos of the same incident. According to a December 20, 2019 report in Live HindustanMuslims in Gorakhpur protested against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register for Citizens. According to the report, these protests turned violent in many districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Gorakhpur, resulting in people being lathi-charged by police.

A video report inside UP branch from December 2019 contained the same footage as the viral clip. Live Hindustan reported that this incident took place in Gorakhpur’s Nakhas Chowk, the same area we found on Google Maps.

In Sambhal, police responded to the death of at least four people on November 24 denied firing live ammunition at demonstrators. It attributed the deaths to gunfire from country-made pistols allegedly used by protesters.

While many videos of clashes from Sambhal have emerged, it is clear that this 2019 video does not show the violence there.