On Wednesday (9th October), a video showing several men beating up a youth went viral on social media with the claims that a Muslim youth was attacked for opposing the attackers from abusing Prophet Muhammad. The video in question is from the Hapur district in Uttar Pradesh.
दावा : इस लड़के को इसलिए मारा गया, क्योंकि इसने पैगंबर मोहम्मद की शान में हुई गुस्ताखी का विरोध किया था।
— Sachin Gupta (@SachinGuptaUP) October 9, 2024
सच : ये अकरम है। हिन्दू लड़की के साथ होटल से वापस आ रहा था। रास्ते में लड़की के भाइयों ने पकड़ लिया। पिटाई की और पुलिस को सौंप दिया।
वीडियो हापुड़, यूपी की 28 सितंबर की है। pic.twitter.com/9OznyLdo8z
Sharing the video on social media, several Muslim users claimed that the Muslim youth was beaten up by Hindu ‘extremists’ for opposing their abusive remarks against Prophet Muhammad.
Journalist Swati Goel Sharma also shared screenshots of how the video had gone viral with claims that a Muslim youth was beaten up by a mob of “Hindutva extremists”.
It appears that one of the first handles to make the video viral with claims of a Muslim youth being beaten by “Hindutva extremists” for opposing an “insult to Prophet Mohammad” was a handle called “Muslim Mirror” which claims to be a news portal.
It was also claimed that the Muslim youth was with his sister and both were assaulted.
Thereafter, several Muslim “journalists” too picked up the story and spread the false information. Wasim Akram Tyagi, who has been recently booked for spreading fake news about a Muslim man being lynched by Hindus, also shared the video.
It was then picked up by several other X users. In this vein, an X user Muhammad Afzal claimed that the said video is from Ghaziabad and wrote, “Muslim girl being brutally beaten by Hindu extremists. Earlier Muslim boys used to be beaten up, now the matter has reached to girls. They are being beaten because they protested against the insult to Prophet Muhammad.”
One Mehdi Hasan who claims to be an officer bearer in AIMIM said: “They are being attacked because they opposed the insult done to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)!! Shameful. We demand that strict legal action be taken against these brutal attackers.”
Another AIMIM supporter Sharik Qureshi shared the viral video and said: “Who filled them with so much hatred? A brother and sister riding a motorcycle are attacked and beaten by 8-10 Hindutva goons. Even the innocent girl is attacked. They were assaulted because they opposed the insult done to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)!! Shameful. We demand that we should do the same in return for these attacking beasts. We will beat them and then they will come to their senses.”
One Ashraf Ali said: “Hindu extremists are brutally beating up Muslim girls. Earlier, Muslim boys were beaten up, now the issue has reached girls. They are being beaten because they protested against the insult to Prophet Muhammad Ghaziabad.”
Was a Muslim youth attacked by Hindu ‘extremists’ for opposing insult to Prophet Muhammad?
While most social media posts claimed that the video in question was from Ghaziabad, the incident unfolded on 28th September, in the Dhaulana police station precinct of Hapur district.
Moreover, several social media users, mostly Muslims, claimed that the ‘Hindu extremists’ attacked the Muslim youth because he opposed their alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad.
However, it has been reported that the Muslim youth identified as Akram had allegedly lured a Hindu girl to a hotel room and raped her. Upon learning about this, the girl’s brothers caught hold of Akram who was going with the girl on his bike and thrashed him. Thus, the claims of purported insult to Prophet Muhammad are false.
Further, the woman the Muslim youth was with, who was claimed to be his “sister”, was in fact the Hindu girl who the Muslim youth had allegedly lured and raped.
In a statement, Hapur’s Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Vineet Jaiswal informed that the Hindu girl later filed a complaint against Akram accusing him of luring her into his trap and sexually assaulting her. The police have registered an FIR against Akram, based on the victim’s complaint. Subsequently, the police arrested the Muslim accused and jailed him.
सोशल मीडिया प्लेटफॉर्म पर वायरल वीडियो जिसमें थाना धौलाना क्षेत्रान्तर्गत एक युवक के साथ मारपीट की जा रही है।
— HAPUR POLICE (@hapurpolice) October 9, 2024
उक्त वीडियो करीब 10 दिन पूर्व का है, उक्त प्रकरण के संबंध में थाना धौलाना पुलिस द्वारा आवश्यक विधिक कार्यवाही की गई है।
इस संबंध में अपर पुलिस अधीक्षक की बाइट~@Uppolice pic.twitter.com/rATlL1wA3B
The Hapur ASP further informed that the police are registering FIR against social media users who falsely linked this incident with an imaginary insult to Prophet Muhammad to disrupt communal harmony. The Hapur Police asked social media users not to post misleading posts on social media platforms without verification and not to spoil the atmosphere by spreading misleading news and giving it a communal colour.
