Old and unrelated images are shared as weapons seized from 6 clerics in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 17, 2023
A post with multiple images of weapons is being shared on social media claiming that 6 clerics were arrested and a stockpile of weapons were recovered in the raid on Madarsa in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh. The post also claims that a light machine gun was found in the stockpile.
Claim: A stockpile of illegal weapons including a light machine gun was seized from a Madarsa in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh.
Fact: Bijnor police arrested 6 clerics in 2019 for smuggling illegal weapons. However, the police did not report recovering a light machine gun. Also, the rest of the images posted are unrelated to the incident. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
On reverse image search of one of the images in the post, a similar image was found on Twitter posted by Bijnor police station on 11 July 2019. The tweet by Bijnor police confirms that 6 accused were arrested for smuggling illegal weapons including 5 pistols and cartridges in Madarsa. Further keyword searches for any related news led us to news reports (here and here) mentioning the details of the case. However, there is no mention of a light machine gun being held anywhere.
थाना शेरकोट @bijnorpolice द्वारा मदरसे में अवैध शस्त्रों की तस्करी करते 06 अभियुक्तगण 01 पिस्टल, 04 तमंचे व भारी मात्रा में कारतूसों सहित गिरफ्तार। #uppolice @Uppolice @adgzonebareilly @digmoradabad @News18India pic.twitter.com/WDj3kkBfIu
While the third image shared in the post is related to the claim, the remaining images posted are not related to the incident. The first two images are related to lethal weapons recovered in Rajkot, Gujarat. The fourth image is from a sword manufacturing factory in Punjab. Others are, an image found on a Canada-based e-commerce website and an image of foreigners arrested from different madarsas respectively. Earlier when these images were shared claiming that weapons were recovered from various places, Factly published fact-check articles debunking these claims. These can be read here, here, and here.
To sum up, unrelated and old photos are being posted as images of seized weapons including a light machine gun from a madarsa in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh.