Photo of BJP Worker From MP Shared to Falsely Claim He Abused PM Modi in Bihar

The man in the photo is a BJP worker from Madhya Pradesh, who is not the accused in the case.

Fact-Check | The image is being shared on the internet with a false claim.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

An image of two people is being circulated on social media platforms with users identifying one of them as Mohammad Rizvi, the man who allegedly abused Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bihar.

What have users claimed?: An X (formerly Twitter) premium user shared the photo claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had planted someone to abuse PM Modi from the Congress stage.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

The above post had gained over two lakh views on the platform. More archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.

What's the truth?: The man in the viral image is a BJP worker from Madhya Pradesh named Nek Mohammad Rizvi.

• He is unrelated to the recent abusive remarks made against the Prime Minister during the Congress' yatra in Bihar. This makes the claim false.

What led us to the truth?: We conducted a keyword search using the words like "mohammad rizvi abused pm modi" on Google, which directed us to a news report published by The Hindu.

• It talked about a BJP worker from Madhya Pradesh filing a police complaint after his images were shared claiming that he was same person who had allegedly abused PM Modi during the Congress' 'Voter Adhikar Yatra'.

• Anuppur Superintendent of Police Moti Ur Rahman told the media outlet that a man named Nek Mohammad Rizvi had filed the defamation complaint.

• The report further said that one Mohammad Rizvi alias Raja was arrested by the Darbhanga related to the case.

The report was published on 29 August.

(Source: The Hindu/Screenshot)

What did the BJP worker say?: On searching for the BJP worker's name, we found his official Facebook handle where we also came across the photo used in the viral image. It was shared on 18 July.

• We further found a Facebook post uploaded on 29 August, where Rizvi identified himself as a BJP worker from Madhya Pradesh.

• He clarified that the viral claim is false and his image is being misused.

• He blamed the Congress party for it and demanded strict against those responsible.

About the accused in the case: An Indian Express report, which carried a photo of the accused, said that a BJP leader has asked for a fatwa to be issued against the man who allegedly used indecent language for PM Modi and his mother during the Congress' yatra in Bihar.

• The accused was identified as Mohammad Rizvi, who was arrested by the Darbhanga police and sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

• The report further said that Rizvi was a resident from a village in Darbhanga's Jale.

The report was last updated on 1 September.

(Source: Indian Express/Screenshot)

What did the police say?: The official X handle of Darbhanga Police said that a 20-year-old man named Mohammad Rizvi, who is a resident of a village in Darbhanga, has been arrested.

Conclusion: While we could not independently verify the political affiliation of the accused, it is clear that an image of a BJP worker is being incorrectly linked to the case.

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