A post accompanying a video (here, here, and here) of a mob brutally assaulting a man is being widely shared across social media platforms with the claim that it shows a mob attack on a Hindu man for wearing a tilak in Sargodha, Pakistan. In this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Visuals of a mob attack on a Hindu man for wearing a tilak in Sargodha, Pakistan.
Fact: This viral video shows visuals of a mob attack on a Christian man over blasphemy in Sargodha, Pakistan. According to news reports, a Christian shoe factory owner named Nazir Gill Masih is accused of burning pages from the Quran in his residential area in Mujahid Colony, Sargodha, Pakistan. He was subsequently attacked by a mob led by radical Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) activists, numbering over 400 and armed with batons, bricks, and stones on 25 May 2024. The mob also vandalized his family’s shoe shop and targeted a church in their colony. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
To verify the accuracy of the viral claim, we conducted a Google reverse image search using the key frames of the viral video. This search led us to a news report uploaded on the official YouTube channel of the ‘Free Press Journal’ on 26 May 2024. This video featured similar visuals to those of the viral video and was titled: “Pakistan Persecution: Christians Targeted, Man Narrowly Escapes Lynching, House & Church Vandalised.” According to the video description, a Christian man in Sargodha, Pakistan, narrowly escaped lynching by a violent mob after being accused of blasphemy (desecration of the Quran). The mob vandalized his family’s shoe shop and targeted a church in their colony.
Taking a cue from this, to know more about this incident, we conducted a relevant keyword search. This search led us to a news report published by India Today, featuring the viral video in its report on 25 May 2024. According to this report, a Christian man was beaten, and his house and factory were set afire by a charged mob of radical Islamists in Pakistan’s Sargodha city over suspicion of blasphemy (desecration of the Quran) on 25 May 2024. The incident occurred in Mujahid Colony, Sargodha district of Punjab, approximately 200 km from Lahore. Police claim to have reached the scene on time to control the situation. However, a video on social media showed firefighters standing at the spot as the locals continued vandalizing and burning the Christian man’s house. The firefighters were seen being warned not to douse the fire.
According to an ‘India TV’ news report, Nazir Gill Masih, the Christian shoe factory owner, is accused of burning pages from the Quran in his residential area in Mujahid Colony and was subsequently attacked by a mob led by radical Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) activists, numbering over 400 and armed with batons, bricks, and stones. Punjab police officials stated that a heavy contingent of police had reached Mujahid Colony and dispersed the mob, which had surrounded some houses (of Christians) over allegations of Quran desecration. He mentioned that one injured person had been transferred to a hospital, and police had been deployed there to maintain law and order.
‘The Economic Times’ report stated that following the incident, over 400 unidentified suspects have been charged, and 25 have been arrested under terrorism and other offences for attacking the Christian man and police officers in Sargodha district, Pakistan. However, the police also registered a blasphemy case against the Christian man, who was critically injured by the mob but survived the lynching attempt. He was booked after the report of an activist of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan.
Additional news reports regarding this mob attack on a Christian man over blasphemy can be seen here, here, and here.
To sum up, this viral video shows a mob attack on a Christian man over blasphemy in Sargodha, Pakistan.
