CLAIM
A viral video on social media claims that as many as 2,000 Rohingyas are kidnapping children to either sell them or kill them. In the video, a man dressed in a woman’s attire can be seen being questioned about details like how many members are there in his team, where are the children taken, where does he sell their kidney etc.
The claim reads: ‘सावधान पूरे हिन्दुस्तान में रोहिंग्या की 2000 लोगो की टीम आयी है जो बच्चों को उठा के ले जा रही है कोई बेचता है कोई बलि के लिये ले जाता है खुद देखो सुनो ओर ज्यादा से ज्यादा इसे फैलाओ’’
(Translation: Alert, a team of 2000 Rohingyas has come in India who kidnaps children. Some sell them, while others kill them. Watch yourself and listen and share it as much as you can)
Several social media users shared the video on Facebook with the same claim.
TRUE OR FALSE?
The claim along with the video is false. The incident is from Khilara village in Mauranipur in Jhansi district in Uttar Pradesh. The man seen in the video is “mentally ill,” according to the police and did not kidnap any children.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
We found the same video with a different claim which suggested that the video is from Mauranipur. The claim further mentioned that the man dressed in a woman’s attire had caught hold of two children from Mauranipur and sent them in a car which was off to Ujjain.
The claim reads: ‘दिनांक 1 अगस्त 2019 को बच्चा को चोरी करने वाला महिला के वेशभूषा में पकड़ा गया जिसने कबूल किया है कि हमने 2 बच्चे मऊरानीपुर से पकड़े और जो गाड़ी बच्चों को लेकर जाती है उसमें भेज दिए उसने गाड़ी का नंबर ही बताया जो गाड़ी उज्जैन के लिए निकल गई है आज सुबह प्रशासन से अनुरोध है कि जिसने गाड़ी का यह नंबर बता रहा है उसको जल्द से जल्द पकड़ा जाए क्योंकि उसमें जाने कितने बच्चे हैं ताकि उन सभी बच्चों की जान बच जाए’
An official in the Mauranipur police station, which is located in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi district, told The Quint that the man seen in the video had not kidnapped any children.
“The incident is from Khilara village in Mauranipur which took place around 10 days back. The man in the video has been identified as Pushpraj and is from Guna in Madhya Pradesh.”Official in Mauranipur police station
The villagers suspected that he is a child lifter and beat him, the official added. On being alerted about the incident, the Mauranipur police called his parents who informed them that he was undergoing a treatment in Gwalior as he is “mentally disturbed.” However, he ran out of Gwalior and reached Khilara village. Pushpraj’s parents showed certificates of Pushpraj being “mentally ill” to the Mauranipur police.
NOT THE FIRST CASE OF CHILD-LIFTING RUMOURS
On Monday, 19 August, Indian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt shared a video with the claim that the man in the video had allegedly abducted children in order to sell their organs. The superintendent of police of Jalaun district, where the incident took place, denied that the man in the video had kidnapped children. He told The Quint that the man was first beaten and then forced to say that he had kidnapped children.
An image on social media had falsely claimed that a group of 25 men had been arrested in Jaora city, in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam district, for abducting children. Rather, they were arrested as they were involved in a sex racket.
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