Self-proclaimed journalist Meer Faisal, whose previous account was withheld in India, is back with a new account to peddle fake news on social media. On 19th June, he published two posts on X with misleading information claiming Muslims were attacked by Hindus in Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh) and Nahan (Himachal Pradesh).
Aligarh: Meer Faisal hid information about Muslim man entering house allegedly with intension of theft in Aligarh
In a post on X, Faisal wrote, “A Muslim man was lynched by a Hindutva mob in Aligarh, UP. The accused were then taken into custody by the district administration and sent to jail. All Hindu organizations are now gathering, chanting anti-police slogans, and closing the marketplaces in protest of the arrest.”
The information was factually misleading and lacked one important aspect the deceased, identified as Aurangzeb, allegedly entered the house of a Hindu family with the intention of theft. He was caught by the Hindu family members during the act. The Hindu family members and other locals beat Aurangzeb up before handing over to the police. He succumbed to his injuries and was declared dead at the hospital.
In a statement issued by Aligarh police, SSP Aligarh, Sanjay Suman, said that the police got information about a thief caught by locals in the Gandhi Park Police Station area. The police reached the spot immediately. It was revealed that a Muslim man entered the house of a Hindu family with the intention of theft. The family members and some locals caught him and beat him up. The police rushed him to the hospital where he was declared brought dead.
थाना गांधीपार्क-दि0 18.06.24 को पुलिस को सूचना प्राप्त हुई मुस्लिम युवक द्वारा चोरी करने के आशय से हिन्दू के घर में घुसा था, जिसके साथ मारपीट की गई,उपचार हेतु अस्पताल ले जाया गया, जहां मृत घोषित किया गया,जनपद में कही पर पथराव नही हुआ है,मौके पर पूर्ण शांति है~ #SSP_Aligarh बाइट pic.twitter.com/VtPbsDJoE3
— ALIGARH POLICE (@aligarhpolice) June 19, 2024
“Following the incident, additional police force was deployed in the area and senior police officials took charge of the situation,” he said. SSP added that the body was handed over to the family on 19th June and the last rites were performed at 2 PM. There was some tension between Hindu and Muslim communities. “Several media houses are claiming that there were incidents of stone pelting but those reports are false. No incident of stone pelting took place anywhere in Aligarh. The situation is under control. The police have taken stock of the demands of both sides and appropriate action is taking in the matter,” SSP Suman said.
Himachal Pradesh: Meer Faisal hid fact about Javed that he posted images slaughtering cow
In another post on 19th June, Faisal wrote, “In Himachal, a Hindutva mob attacked the Muslim man’s shop in front of the police, looting and vandalizing it after he shared a picture of an animal sacrifice on his WhatsApp status.” He also shared a video of Javed’s garment shop being vandalised in Nahan, Himachal Pradesh. However, he completely skipped the fact that Javed provoked Hindus in Nahan by publishing images of slaughtering cows on Bakrid.
In Himachal, a Hindutva mob attacked the Muslim man's shop in front of the police, looting and vandalizing it after he shared a picture of an animal sacrifice on his WhatsApp status. pic.twitter.com/0ep7gcfDaL
— Meer Faisal (@meerfaisal001) June 19, 2024
In his tweet, Meer Faisal mentioned that the accused had shared an image of “Animal sacrifice” on his Whatsapp, because of which, a “Hindutva mob” attacked his shop. In this tweet itself, Meer Faisal purposely did not disclose that the Hindus believed the animal being slaughtered was a cow, because of which they vandalized his shop. Cow slaughter is banned in the state and the cow itself holds great religious significance to Hindus.
By terming it merely an image of “animal sacrifice” and the Hindus protesting as a “Hindutva mob”, Meer Faisal hid the material fact to give the impression that the Hindus who were protesting as purposefully and needlessly violent. He seems to have wanted to project that the outraged community was driven purely by their hatred for the accused, owing to his Muslim religious identity, instead of informing readers that the Hindus were outraged specifically because they believed the animal being sacrificed to be a cow.
Meer Faisal should have used a picture of the ‘alleged cow slaughter’. It is also noteworthy that animal slaughter is literally intrinsic to Bakrid and no Muslim has been beaten up for that, so the use of ‘animal slaughter’ instead of ‘alleged cow slaughter’ was meant to suggest that a Muslim was beaten up for practicing his religion rather than indulging in a banned act that Hindus deem provocative
On 19th June, Javed allegedly slaughtered a cow on the occasion of Bakrid. Javed, originally from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, has been operating a ready-made garments shop in Nahan, Himachal Pradesh, for the past 1.5 years. He shared pictures of an animal sacrifice on his WhatsApp status. In the image, he is seen smiling and standing with a knife close to a slaughtered animal, with other people in the background.
Hindu groups protested and called for action when they arrived at Javed’s garments shop in Nahan. Furthermore, they stated that Javed should never again be permitted to work in Nahan. There are rumors that some participants in this rally turned violent. In Nahan, a rally has also been planned by Hindu organizations.
Since the incident, Javed has absconded from Nahan, and the police are searching for him. Hindu organizations have also reported this to the police in a complaint. In this case, OpIndia was informed by the Nahan police station’s SHO that Javed most likely did not slaughter the cow in Nahan and had done it in Saharanpur. It is notable here that cow slaughter is illegal in India. Beef in the Indian context means only buffalo meat.
Meer Faisal, fake news and Voice of Khurasan
Faisal’s previous account meerfaisal01 was withheld in India. His new ID on X is meerfaisal001. The new account was created and verified on X in November 2023. In his pinned post from 20th November 2023, Faisal pointed out that his old account was withheld and informed everyone about the new handle.
Meer Faisal has a long history of sharing fake posts and making inflammatory, misleading social media posts. His posts were used by the ISIS-backed magazine Voice of Khurasan to peddle fake news in August 2023. In the 28th issue of Voice of Khurasan, ISIS spewed venom against Hindus, specifically in the backdrop of Nuh violence unleashed on the Hindus during the shobha yatra. They called for killing Hindus, burning their homes, shops and crops, and destroying idols of Hindu Gods in the name of Islam. In the article, the magazine quoted three posts from Faisal that were shared on 30th July, the day of Nuh violence, where a Muslim mob attacked Hindu devotees who participated in Shobhayatra.
Update: The earlier version of the article assumed that what Meer had hidden would be obvious to the readers, but the copy is being edited to explain why he intended to hide crucial information in an attempt to paint an outraged community as purposefully violent. It is pertinent to also note that two days after this article was published, the police claimed that the animal that the accused had sacrificed could have been a buffalo and not a cow. However, this ex-post-facto information does not change the fact that when the incident took place, it was believed that the animal was a cow and Meer Faisal seems to have deliberately hidden that detail to demonize the protesting Hindus.
