A day after Eid al-Fitr was observed in India on May 2, several social media users uploaded a video that shows a group of young men chanting Islamic slogans, including “Mazhab-e-Islam”. It has been claimed that “pro-Pakistan” chants can also be heard in the video, shot in the Awar locality of Rajasthan’s Jhalawar district. The users demanded charges of sedition should be levelled against the people in the video.
आवर थाना पगारिया जिला झालावाड़ राजस्थान मे लगे पाकिस्तान जिंदाबाद के नारे पुलिस ज्लदी करे कार्यवाही ,,,ओर उन देश द्रोहियों पर देश द्रोह का मुकदमा दर्ज किया जाए @RajsthanPolice2 @aajtak @News18Rajasthan @ABPNews pic.twitter.com/DaJCEr01ph
— ssratod (@ssratod1) May 3, 2022
As of writing the article, several users have deleted their posts, including Twitter user @hritikvyas8 whose tweet gained the most traction. @hritikvyas8 had tagged Rajasthan police, Jhalawar police and multiple BJP members.
Several posts are still up on Twitter and Facebook.
Video verification
Multiple individuals can be heard leading the sloganeering and the man closest to the phone, recording the video, states at the start “Zindabad Zindabad, Mazhab-e-Islam”. Right after this, other people sloganeering further away from the phone can be heard saying “Allahu Akbar”. The person nearest to the phone the chants the following slogans:
- 6 seconds to 15 seconds – “Nara-e-Taqbeer, Allahu Akbar”
- 16 to 22 seconds – “Zindabad Zindabad, Mazhab-e-Islam Zindabad”
- 23 seconds to 30 seconds – “Dekho Humare Nabi Ki Shaan, Bacha Bacha Hai Qurbaan”
Responding to @hritikvyas8, Jhalawar police tweeted, “Talks are being held with the concerned people at the police station and the video is being investigated. Legal proceedings will take place on the basis of that.”
@JhalawarPolice कृपया मामले का संज्ञान लेकर आवश्यक कार्यवाही सुनिश्चित करें।
— Rajasthan Police HelpDesk (@RajPoliceHelp) May 3, 2022
On May 4, Alt News contacted the Jhalawar SP office and a cyber cell official. Neither could offer an update on the situation. During our research, we found a tweet by a law student named Imran Rangrej. He wrote, “Chants of Mazhab-e-Islam are being shared with the claim that they are pro-Pakistan chants…” He connected us with a local resident from Awar who has been following the incident.
@PoliceRajasthan @RajPoliceHelp @JhalawarPolice
मजहब ए इस्लाम जिंदाबाद के नारे को पाकिस्तान जिंदाबाद का नारा बताकर मनगढंत अफवाह फैलाई जा रही है, विडियो की गहनता से जाचं करें!भ्रामक व गलत सुचना देने वाले के खिलाफ मुकदमा दर्ज कर कारवाई करें! https://t.co/sJJrkzDJuY
— Imran Rangrej (@imran_rangr) May 4, 2022
On the condition of anonymity, the resident told us, “To my surprise, the person who spread fake news was released by the police. However, two Muslim men who were identified in the video have been detained. We are hopeful they will be released soon.” As of May 5, they haven’t been released.
He shared a report by Patrika on the incident with the headline, ‘Video of anti-national slogan during Eid procession goes viral’. As per the report, the incident took place in the Awar-Pagaria area.
Patrika’s headline is misleading as the article states, “The viral video was sent to cyber cell for investigation. No anti-national sloganeering as confirmed.”
The report also includes a statement by Govind Singh Chauhan, the sarpanch of Guradiya village in Jhalawar. He said, “Some misunderstanding took place after the video went viral. After the police investigation, the matter was settled by the local people.”
Over a telephonic call, SHO Pagaria Ramprasad G, told Alt News, “In the video, no anti-national slogans can be heard. Since the situation got tensed, we detained two Muslim youths under Section 151 [Arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences] in The Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973.”
To sum it up, yet another video of members of the Muslim community chanting Islamic slogans was shared with the false claim that they were raising pro-Pakistan chants.
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