Fact check: Old video of anti-CAA protests in Gorakhpur FALSEly shared as Sambhal riots

On November 24, protests against the inspection of a mosque in the Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh turned violent. At least four people were reportedly killed and dozens injured.

On the morning of November 24, a group of court-appointed lawyers asked the Shahi Jama Masjid to conduct a survey following a petition alleging that the Mughal-era mosque was built after the destruction of a temple on the site. This led to protests by local Muslim residents, which led to clashes with the police.

AND video now being circulated on the internet purports to show Sambhal police charging at lathi protesters.

The viral clip shows a large group of people being beaten by police officers in a lane. Many of them can be seen wearing skull caps. Sharing video” – User X wrote: “Yogi Ji Police is back in shape. This is the way to deal with these peaceful fools #SambhalJamaMasjid.” You can see the archive of the post Here.

A fact check on India Today revealed that the viral clip is neither from Sambhal nor is it recent. A December 2019 video from Gorakhpur shows police charging anti-CAA protesters with lathi.

OUR SURVEY

A reverse keyframe search from the viral clip led us to the same video posted by a YouTube channel in March 2020, making it clear that this was not the result of the recent clashes in Sambhal.

WHERE IS THE VIDEO FROM?

In the video, we observed several shops and their names written on boards. We searched for these names on Google Maps and discovered that the video originated from Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh, which is over 650 kilometers away from Sambhal. As seen on Google Maps, this area is Nakhas Chowk in Gorakhpur. A comparison of the store seen in the viral clip and Street View on Google Maps can be seen below.

Using this clue, we found it several press reports which included the viral clip and other videos from the same event. According to the report of December 20, 2019 Living HindustanMuslims in Gorakhpur protested against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens. According to the report, these protests turned violent in many districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Gorakhpur, due to which police started lathi-charge.

Video report in UYes from December 2019 featured the same graphic as the viral clip. Live Hindustan reported that the incident took place at Nakhas Chowk in Gorakhpur, the same area we found on Google Maps.

In Sambhal, police took action after the death of at least four people on November 24 he refused to use live ammunition at protesters. She attributed the death to shots from domestic pistols allegedly used by protesters.

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