Ujjain: How Rumours of Spitting on Procession Led to Jail & 'Bulldozer Justice'

Team WebQoof went to Ujjain to investigate the rumours and find out the truth behind them.

The Quint's fact-checking team, WebQoof, is bringing stories of similar people in this special series 'Fake News, Real Impact' who suffered due to a rumour.

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

On 17 July 2023, Adnan, a resident of Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain, would not have thought that a mere rumour would change his life forever while heading home after closing his soda shop.

Adnan, along with his younger brother and two neighborhood children, went to the balcony of the neighbouring house. At the same time, the Mahakal procession was seen passing on the road. Some people recorded Adnan and his friends, about which Adnan had no idea.

In the evening, police personnel from the nearby Khara Kuan police station arrived and arrested Adnan. It was then that he and his family learned that he had been accused of spitting on the Mahakal procession.

Was Adnan seen spitting on the procession in the video? No. Was there any other evidence to prove that Adnan had spit? No. So, on what basis was he arrested? It was only on the claim of the people who shared the video, who said that they saw Adnan spitting.

The police's alleged action didn't stop there. The next day, the administration arrived at Adnan's house with a DJ and dhol-nagadas and demolished his house with a bulldozer.

When asked about his house's demolition, Adnan said,

"I didn’t know my house was demolished by a bulldozer. My family didn’t want to tell me because they didn’t want me to worry. So, they didn’t tell me. Eventually, I found out about two months later."

Adnan, main accused in the case

The Quint's fact-checking team, WebQoof, is bringing stories of similar people in this special series 'Fake News, Real Impact' who suffered due to a rumour. We went to Ujjain to identify the people who had levelled the allegations, how true these allegations were, and whether the police investigated the accusations in the way they should have.

(Source: Accessed by The Quint)

What Is the Truth Behind the Claims of Spitting on the Mahakal Procession?

Our team went to the place where the video was filmed to uncover all the details of the case. The original version of the viral clip, which was provided by Adnan's family, clearly showed that Adnan was not doing anything. So, why did the police make him the main accused in the case?

"Since Adnan was the only adult among the children standing on the balcony, he was made the main accused."

Ashraf, Adnan's father

The video does not show Adnan doing anything.

(Source: Accessed by The Quint)

Additionally, the video based on which the First Information Report (FIR) was filed clearly showed the chewing gum spit by another child standing next to Adnan fell on the window and not the road below.

This raises the question - did the police assume without investigating the video that the children standing on the balcony had spat on the procession?

The video shows the balcony, whose video was viral.

(Source: The Quint)

The CD of the video that was provided to us by the complainant and the government lawyer clearly showed that none of the children standing on the balcony spat on the procession. The gum that was spat by child was seen falling on the window, not on the road.

Devendra Sengar, Adnan's lawyer

The BJP leader, Masoom Jaiswal, claimed that he had filmed the video on the basis of which the FIR was filed. He is also a witness in this case. However, Jaiswal lives in Indore, which is about 50 kilometers away from the incident site. We met him to find out if he had any evidence which could prove that Adnan indeed spat on the Mahakal procession.

The image shows Masoom Jaiswal, who is a witness in the case.

(Source: The Quint)

In response, Jaiswal showed us another video where a boy was spotted holding a water bottle in a balcony. Jaiswal claimed that the boy in the clip was rinsing his mouth or gargling.

Masoom Jaiswal showed us another video in response.

(Source: Shiv Maurya/The Quint)

But we did not see anybody rinsing their mouth or gargling in the video. When we asked Jaiswal about this, he responded by saying, "

They were standing in the balcony when the Mahakal procession was passing by, it means they must have done something.

Masoom Jaiswal, case witness

Masoom Jaiswal wasn’t able to show us any video or evidence that proves anyone spat on Mahakal’s procession.

Another important aspect of the case caught the attention of Adnan's father. The balcony from which the video went viral was located right next to a government CCTV camera. This camera was specifically installed to record the Mahakal procession.

Adnan's father, Ashraf, says that when he requested the CCTV footage of the camera under the RTI Act, he was told that the camera was off during the procession.

Adnan's father, Ashraf.

(Source: Shiv Maurya/The Quint)

What Happened in the Court?

Sawan Lot, whom the police had identified as the complainant, testified in the court that he was not even present near Adnan's house on the day of the Mahakal procession. Based on this, the court granted Adnan bail.

However, by the time the truth came to light, Adnan had already spent 151 days in jail.

Adnan was made the main accused in the case.

(Source: Shiv Maurya/The Quint)

After Adnan was granted bail, Lot gave a statement to the media saying that he withdrew the complaint under pressure. In response to this, Sengar said,

"The person who was made a witness in the FIR later backtracked on his statement and when he was asked again by the complainant, he said he withdrew his statement due to pressure. However, there is no question of pressure in statements given in the court."

Devendra Sengar, Adnan's lawyer

The Questions That Remain Unanswered

Although Adnan has now been granted bail and is trying to get his life back on track, there are some questions whose answers are still awaited.

• Why did the police demolish the house without investigating the allegations?

• Now that the main complainants have reversed their statements, will Adnan’s family receive compensation for the house that was demolished?

• Where is the CCTV footage from the government camera?

(Translated from Hindi by Abhishek Anand.)