This Muslim cleric was not shot by a Hindu group in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut
A video showing a man in a hospital bed is being shared on social media (here, here, and here) claiming that a Hindu mob entered a mosque and shot the Imam of Qasmi Masjid in Lisari Gate, Meerut, while he was teaching kids to recite the Quran. Let’s check the claim in the post.
Claim: A Hindu mob entered a mosque and shot the Imam of Qasmi Masjid in Lisari Gate, Meerut while he was teaching children to recite the Quran.
Fact: The Muslim cleric was not shot by a Hindu group in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut. Maulana Naeem was shot by a man named Sartaj while he was teaching the Quran on 6 October 2024 in the Samar Garden area, near the Lisari Gate police station, Meerut. The Meerut police clarified that Naeem, and the accused, Sartaj, belong to the Muslim community and that there is no communal angle to it. It also stated that a case had been filed against Sartaj at the Lisadi Gate police station and police teams are actively searching for Sartaj. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
While performing a relevant keyword search about the viral claim, we came across a report from Dainik Bhaskar that included the same video as the viral one. As per the report, Maulana Naeem was shot by a man named Sartaj while he was teaching the Quran. The mosque leaders including the maulana prohibited Sartaj from returning for future prayers after a fight at the mosque. Feeling angry about being rejected from entering the mosque several times, Sartaj attacked the maulana. On 6 October 2024, the Times of India quoted SSP Meerut Vipin Tada, who said “Mohammed Sartaj, who is said to be mentally ill, is known to Naeem They had some estrangement following a verbal argument a few days ago. Naeem, who is also a ‘hakeem’ (a physician of Islamic and Ayurvedic medicine), treated Sartaj for his habit of forgetting. On Sunday, Sartaj came to the mosque, fired at Naeem, and fled, leaving his firearm behind.”
We found multiple news reports covering this incident (here, here, and here). Further research led us to a statement by Meerut police on X regarding the incident. The police confirmed that the incident occurred on 6 October 2024 in the Samar Garden area, near the Lisari Gate police station, Meerut. The statement also clarified that both the victim, Naeem, and the accused, Sartaj, belong to the Muslim community and that there is no communal angle to it. It also stated that a case had been filed against Sartaj at the Lisadi Gate police station and police teams are actively searching for Sartaj. We also found the FIR registered in this case at Lisadi Gate police station.
To sum up, the shooting of a Maulana in Meerut is being shared with a false communal angle.