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Old video of a fight on a flight from Thailand to Kolkata has been shared with a false communal narrative

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A viral video (here, here and here) circulating on social media shows two individuals involved in a verbal altercation, which escalates into a physical fight, with one person overpowering the other on a flight. The video claims that a Muslim individual is attacking a Hindu passenger on an airplane. Let’s investigate the truth behind this claim to verify its authenticity.

The archived version of the video can be found here

Claim: The visuals of a fight on an airplane depicts a Muslim individual assaulting a Hindu person.

Fact: The incident occurred on 26 December 2022, on a Thai Smile Airways flight from Bangkok to Kolkata. According to reports and the police FIR, the individuals involved were Amid Mohammad Hussain and S.K. Azaruddin. The altercation escalated when Hussain refused to follow safety instructions, leading to physical violence from Azaruddin and other passengers. There was no communal angle to the incident. Hence, the claim is FALSE.

To verify the truth behind the viral video, we conducted a keyword search on Google and found that Zee News reported the incident that the altercation occurred on a Thai Smile Airways flight from Bangkok to Kolkata. Zee News also shared the same video on X with the caption, “#WATCH: Mid-Air fight on #THAISmileAirways Bangkok-Kolkata flight goes viral; netizens react.”

Further research led us to multiple media reports (here, here and here), including The Hindu. According to these reports, the incident occurred on a Thai Smile Airways flight from Bangkok to Kolkata on 26 December 2022, when Amid Mohammad Hussain, seated in 37C, refused to comply with standard safety instructions, such as straightening his seat and wearing a seatbelt, citing back pain. Despite repeated requests from the crew, he remained uncooperative. Another passenger, S.K. Azaruddin, became agitated and initiated a physical altercation by slapping and punching Hussain. Several other passengers joined in the assault. The airline crew intervened and tried to calm the situation. Despite the violence, the flight continued after a brief delay, and a complaint was later filed against all involved passengers. There was no mention of any communal motive in media reports, and the incident was resolved with no further disruption.

Thai Smile Airways reported the incident to the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The airline indicated that the passenger in seat 37C, Amid Mohammad Hussain, had refused to follow safety rules, which contributed to the altercation on the flight

To confirm the identities of the individuals involved in the incident, we accessed the FIR from the Bidhannagar police station in Kolkata. The report clearly identifies the two individuals: Mr Ahmed/Mohammed Hussain, who occupied seat 37C, and Shaikh Azharuddin, who was in seat 41C. This information corroborates the details of the altercation on the flight.

Additionally, after the video of the altercation went viral, the airline issued an apology to the involved parties. However, the social media account that reported the incident has been inactive since 2023. In January 2024, Thai Smile Airways merged with Thai Airways International.

To sum up, an old video of a fight on a flight from Thailand to Kolkata has been shared with a false communal narrative.

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