A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the photo shows the treatment meted out to Hindu saints during Mulayam Singh Yadav’s tenure as Chief Minister in Uttar Pradesh. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo showing Mulayam Singh Yadav’s mistreatment of Hindu saints in UP.
Fact: The photo has nothing to do with Mulayam Singh Yadav or Uttar Pradesh. The photo is from a 2009 police raid in Asaram Bapu’s Ashram in Gujarat. More than 200 supporters of Asaram Bapu were arrested on charges of attempt to murder, etc. on 27 November 2009 when on the previous day, Asaram Bapu’s followers clashed with the Gujarat police, injuring many including senior police officers. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search is done on the photo, the same photo was found on the website of Asaram Bapu. In an article, “Attack on Indian Culture, Humanity, Hinduism & Saints” dated 27 November 2009, and in another article, the same photo was found. The photo is from the lathi charge by the Police in Asaram Bapu’s Ashram in Gujarat. “The room of one of the sadhaks, who was doing sadhana in the Maun Mandir for a week, was also broken through, and he was dragged away by the police, pulling him by the hair.”
There are a couple of videos on YouTube that have similar visuals of the person with long hair manhandled by the police, in relation to Asaram Bapu Ashram. The videos can be seen here and here.
On 27 November 2009, more than 200 supporters of Asaram Bapu were arrested on charges of attempt to murder, etc, according to reports. On the previous day, Asaram Bapu followers clashed with the Gujarat police, injuring many personnel including senior police officers. Police in Gandhinagar raided Asaram Bapu’s Ashram in Motera in relation to this incident.
On 30 October 1990, Mulayam Singh Yadav had ordered the firing on kar sevaks in Ayodhya, which he later regretted in 2016. However, he justified his actions in 2017 by saying that he had done it to protect the country’s unity and integrity.
To sum it up, a 2009 photo from Gujarat is falsely shared as Mulayam Singh Yadav government’s mistreatment of Hindu saints in UP.
