‘Eminent journalist’ Rana Ayyub has shared a video on Twitter that purportedly shows some individuals vandalizing a Mosque in Delhi. A saffron flag can also be seen in the hands of one of the men. Rana Ayyub had shared the video earlier but had deleted it after it was alleged to be fake. Now, she claims that she has reverified the authenticity of the video.
Re-posting this video after verifying its authenticity. It is from Delhi. Men marching on top of a mosque, vandalising it and placing a saffron flag over it. pic.twitter.com/bScgJMxKc3
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) February 25, 2020
Rana Ayyub had deleted the video she had shared earlier after people on the social media platform questioned its authenticity. In that tweet as well, Rana Ayyub had claimed that the individuals were attempting to place a saffron flag on the Mosque.
Numerous allegations are being made that the said individuals are ‘Hindutva terrorists’ on the basis of the said video. The video was shared by several other individuals on the social media platform. This user claimed that it is from Ashok Nagar.
Ashok Nagar Delhi Mosque
नफरत की इंतिहा देखो,
धार्मिक स्थल को तहस नहस कर दियाWe can see a very dark time from our country’s history being repeated. Will we let this happen?#DelhiRiots #DelhiBurning pic.twitter.com/77uXTP1fAQ
— We The People of India (@ThePeopleOfIN) February 25, 2020
The veracity of the viral video was questioned by others.
This is not from Delhi!!! this is a old video…Why are u peddling FAKE NEWS @RanaAyyub https://t.co/vv5WK1iBeP
— Defence360_Official (@Defence_360) February 25, 2020
It is also claimed that a police complaint has been filed against the controversial journalist for the alleged fake video she shared amidst communal tensions at the national capital.
Criminal complaint filed against Rana Ayyub for circulating fake, old video under relevant sections. Likely to be arrested… https://t.co/3DXl7CCEFR
— Nisheeth Sharan (@nisheethsharan) February 25, 2020
The police complaint might have motivated Rana Ayyub to delete the video from her account but she appears to firmly believe that the video is authentic. However, as of this moment, the claims of damage to a Mosque in Ashok Vihar has been denied by the Police. At the same time, The New Indian Express has reported that a mosque has indeed been set on fire in Delhi. A Mosque was set on fire in Delhi’s Gokulpuri according to TNIE on Tuesday.
A mosque in #Gokulpuri was set ablaze in #DelhiRiots.
Express photos by @Somrita_Ghosh.
LIVE: https://t.co/0MJAS01VNX pic.twitter.com/7U9xOXJwaB— The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) February 25, 2020
The ones responsible for the act haven’t yet been identified. Thus, there is no evidence as of yet of the political affiliations of the individuals involved. As per claims on social media, the video shared by Rana Ayyub and others was actually from Samastipur in Bihar where communal tensions had erupted two years ago. However, OpIndia could not independently verify these claims.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police of North West Delhi has clarified that no mosque has been damaged in Ashok Vihar amidst rumours regarding the same. “It is to clarify that no such incident has taken place in the area of Ashok Vihar. Please do not spread false information,” he said.
DCP North West, Delhi: Some false information/news item has been circulating regarding damage to a mosque in Ashok Vihar area. It is to clarify that no such incident has taken place in the area of Ashok Vihar. Please do not spread false information.
— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2020
It is The Wire which had initially published a report that claimed a Mosque was set on fire in Ashok Vihar. However, they have rectified the report to claim that the Mosque was vandalized in Ashok Nagar. As per Google, the distance between Ashok Nagar and Ashok Vihar is just over 10 kilometers.
The whole matter as of now appears to be that The Wire claimed that a mosque was damaged in Ashok Vihar. The Delhi Police has denied reports of damage to any Mosque in the area. The Wire has since then changed their report to claim that a mosque was damaged in Ashok Nagar. The video that Rana Ayyub shared is also being claimed to be from Ashok Nagar.
Religious places have been attacked on numerous occasions by violent mobs after the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act. At Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, anti-CAA rioters had attacked three Hindu Temples on Monday. Violent mobs, with groups of Muslim women actively participating, went on a rampage in Uparkot, Turkman Gate, and Baniyapada areas.
The anti-CAA Muslim mob had pelted stones at police personnel, attacked police vehicles and had even set a transformer on fire near the Jama Masjid, Aligarh. Police had to finally resort to firing tear gas shells to disperse the protestors. A Muslim mob had attacked and desecrated a temple in Bihar’s Patna on the 21st of December last year, days after the CAA was passed by both houses of the Parliament. It was a Hanuman Temple that was vandalized and some miscreants had even desecrated the Murthi.
Serious violence and anarchy have broken out in Delhi over the ongoing riots against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The violence is of communal nature and Hindus have been murdered and their property has been set on fire amidst chants of ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ and ‘Nara e Taqbeer’. Furthermore, a gun-wielding man who fired shots at the Police has been identified as one local named Shahrukh and he has been arrested by the Police. However, despite evidence to the contrary, the usual suspects on Twitter are trying hard to blame ‘Bhagwa terror’ for the ruckus.
