A video going viral on social media (here, here, and here) shows a group of men surrounding a girl, pulling the veil from her face, and recording the incident. It is being shared with the claim that a few Hindu youths harassed a Muslim girl in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. Let’s verify the claim made in the post through this article.
Claim: The video shows a few Hindu youths harassing a Muslim girl in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh.
Fact: The incident took place in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, but it was not Hindu youths who harassed the girl. According to multiple news reports and the police, a group of Muslim youths stopped a Muslim girl and her Hindu colleague, who were travelling together on a bike. They dragged the girl off the vehicle and assaulted both of them. The Muzaffarnagar police confirmed to Factly that all the accused were Muslims, not Hindus. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of the viral video’s keyframes led to multiple news reports (here, here, and here) featuring the same visuals. According to these reports, the incident took place in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, where a group of Muslim youths allegedly attacked a Muslim girl and a Hindu boy seen riding together on a bike. The attackers reportedly stopped them, confirmed their names, and then dragged the girl off the bike. They took both to a nearby shop, assaulted the boy, and tried to remove the girl’s burqa while pulling her braid and slapping her. Bystanders later intervened and rescued them. The video went viral on social media, prompting police action.
After identifying the accused, the police carried out raids and arrested six individuals—Sartaj, Shadab, Umar, Arsh, Shoaib, and Shami—in connection with the incident. Muzaffarnagar City CO Raju Sao stated that all six were questioned and later sent to jail.
We contacted the Muzaffarnagar police, who confirmed that the incident took place under their jurisdiction. Speaking to Factly, an official said the victim, a Muslim girl who works with her mother at a finance company, had gone to collect an instalment with a Hindu colleague named Sachin. While they were riding together on a bike, a group of Muslim youths allegedly stopped them and assaulted them. The official dismissed the viral claim that a Hindu youth had harassed the Muslim girl and confirmed the names of the accused, as reported in the media. We also accessed the FIR copy of this case, which corroborates this information.
To sum up, a video of youths harassing a Muslim girl in Muzaffarnagar, U.P., is being shared with a false communal narrative.
