On February 24, while replying to a post spreading fake news about Gorakhpur, UP Police Fact Check said the incident mentioned in the post was not from Uttar Pradesh but from Bihar. UP Police further added that Gorakhpur Police has registered a case against the user for spreading fake news, and an investigation has been initiated. They further urged everyone not to spread fake news.
वायरल फोटो उत्तर प्रदेश से न होकर थाना मुसरीघरारी, जनपद समस्तीपुर, बिहार से संबंधित है। @gorakhpurpolice द्वारा आपके विरुद्ध FIR पंजीकृत कर आवश्यक विधिक कार्यवाही की जा रही है।
— UPPOLICE FACT CHECK (@UPPViralCheck) February 24, 2022
कृपया बिना सत्यापन के भ्रामक पोस्ट कर अफवाह न फैलाएं।#UPPViralCheck#UPPolicehttps://t.co/cWkhEx35kJ https://t.co/OqVKxgIjV8 pic.twitter.com/X3sWVJOch2
Gorakhpur Police, in a post, said, “No such incident took place. Gorakhpur Police dismisses such misleading posts. Action has been initiated against those who are spreading fake news on social media under relevant Sections.”
ऐसी कोई घटना जनपद गोरखपुर मे घटित नही हुई है ऐसी असत्य व भ्रामक पोस्ट का #gorakhpurpolice खण्डन करती है, आपके द्वारा सोशल मीडिया के माध्यम से उक्त भ्रामक सूचना का प्रचार प्रसार किया जा रहा है आपके खिलाफ सुसंगत धाराओं मे अभियोग पंजीकृत किया जा रहा है#UPPAgainstFakeNews #UPPolice pic.twitter.com/8PYQxLbCaj
— Gorakhpur Police (@gorakhpurpolice) February 24, 2022
The misleading post alleged BSP supporter was burnt alive in Gorakhpur
Several Twitter users published fake news on social media that a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) worker was burnt alive in Gorakhpur for not voting for BJP. In the now-taken-down post, Twitter user Vikram Singh Badalpur had written, “Today, a BSP worker was burnt alive in Gorakhpur, and Police is trying to cover up the issue. His fault was only that when a BJP leader asked him whom he would vote, he said he would vote for BSP. The incident took place in village Narayanpur, Gorakhpur Grameen.” Twitter took down the post as it violated Twitter Rules.
Vikram was not the only person who shared the post. At least six other posts were live on Twitter by the time this report was published. Gorakhpur Police has warned two of them as well for not spreading the fake news.
The reality behind the image posted with fake news
The image that was posted with the fake news was not from Gorakhpur but from Bihar. A Janata Dal-United (JDU) leader was killed and burnt in Samstipur, Bihar. His burnt body was recovered by the Police from a house located in a secluded place near Budhi Gandak river in village Vasudevpur, Kalyanpur Police station area. He was identified as 34-year-old JDU leader Mohammad Khaleel Alam Rizvi. The incident took place in village Hudiya, Mushrigharari police station area. A misleading video was made viral in the incident to give it a communal colour but the propaganda was busted by the Bihar Police during the investigation.
OpIndia tried to reach out to the Gagaha Police station under which Narayanpur village falls but could not connect.