After gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari passed away on 28 March, a video is now being shared on social media platforms as visuals from his funeral procession.
What have users said?: Those sharing the video have said, "This scene is not of the funeral of a martyred army soldier but of the terrorist Mukhtar Ansari who killed dozens of people. Hey India, specially Hindus. If you don't wake up today, your future is bleak."
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Photo: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)
The video had generated over 38 thousand views on the platform, when this report was being written. Archives of several such claims can be viewed here, here, and here.
What is the truth?: The claim is false as the video predates the death of Ansari. It reportedly shows the funeral procession of Saqlain Miyan, who is regarded as a Sufi scholar.
What led us to the truth?: We performed a Google Lens search and came across the same visuals uploaded on an unverified Instagram handle 'isaqlaini690'.
The video was shared on 19 January and its caption mentioned 'Hazrat Peero Murshid Shah Saqlain Miyan Huzoor'.
The caption carried some hashtags, such as #Bareilly_Shareef and #22October2023.
This handle had shared the same video on 3 November 2023.
News reports: A report published in Amar Ujala mentioned that thousands of devotees from Kakrala and Badaun, among other cities, gathered to pay their last respects to Hazrat Saqlain Miyan in October 2023.
The procession took place in the grounds of Islamia Inter College.
We found other videos on YouTube that showed visuals from the funeral procession of the saint.
The report was published on 22 October 2023.
(Source: AmarUjala/Screenshot)
Geolocating the place: Taking hints from the news report, we searched for 'Islamia Inter College' on Google Maps and found a similar structure which was seen in the viral video.
The comparison below shows similar colours and design of the structure.
A comparison clearly highlights the similarities.
(Source: Google Maps/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)
About Mukhtar Ansari's funeral: Over thousands of people had gathered outside Ansari's house and the burial ground in Ghazipur, where he was laid to rest, The Indian Express reported.
The security arrangement was increased across the town and Ansari's body was brought to his home town.
Ansari's incarcerated son, Abbas Ansari, and absconding wife Afshan Ansari were not present during his last rites, as per The Times of India.
Conclusion: While it is true that a large number of people gathered during Mukhtar Ansari's funeral procession, this particular video is old and unrelated.
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