Amidst the communal tensions reported in Mira Road, Maharashtra, during the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, a video is circulating alleging that it portrays the police apprehending protesters in Mira Road for stone-pelting on 22 January 2024. In this article, we will fact-check the assertions associated with the video.
Claim: Video depicting the apprehension of demonstrators in Mira Road for engaging in stone-pelting during the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
Fact: These visuals are from an old incident in Hyderabad when the police detained protesters opposing the remarks made by BJP MLA Raja Singh about Prophet Mohammed in August 2022. Although reports indicate that the police arrested individuals involved in the Mira Road disturbances, these visuals are not connected to that particular incident. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reports indicate that the police detained some individuals in connection with the Mira Road violence. Nevertheless, the viral footage is unrelated to these arrests; instead, it portrays an earlier incident reported in Hyderabad.
Conducting a reverse image search on the viral footage led us to news reports published in August 2022, featuring the same visuals. According to these reports, the images capture the police apprehending protesters assembled in the Shalibanda area of Hyderabad. The protests were related to BJP leader T Raja Singh and his comments on Prophet Muhammad.
In August 2022, Raja Singh, a BJP MLA from Telangana, reportedly made comments referencing the Prophet, leading to his arrest and subsequent suspension from the BJP. The incident of protesters gathering in Shalibanda, as mentioned above, occurred in the context of this development.
Additional news articles covering the police baton charging in Shalibanda can be found here and here. Consequently, these reports indicate that the viral footage is unrelated to the disturbances in Mira Road in Maharashtra.
To sum it up, old visuals from Hyderabad are passed off as police apprehending protesters involved in the Mira road violence in Maharashtra.
