A video showing a person in a burqa attempting to kidnap a child, before being apprehended and thrashed by people chasing him in a car is being widely shared on social media.
It reveals that the person under the burqa was a man, who was attempting to lure the child by offering chocolates, before the child's mother reaches the spot and joins the men in nabbing the kidnapper.
However, this is yet another scripted video that has been shared across social media, with users believing it to be a video of a real incident.
The Quint's WebQoof has debunked several such videos in the past, with claims such as:
A burqa-clad woman kidnapping a child, which was also staged and was from Egypt.
A Muslim man named 'Zubair' adding toilet cleaner to street food.
A tailor inappropriately touching women, which was also shared with a communal claim.
You can read our debunks on more scripted videos that were shared with a variety of claims, as clips of real incidents here.
CLAIM
The video is being shared with a caption in Hindi, which tells people that the burqa is a "mask for terrorism," and that illegal acts were being carried out under the guise of donning a burqa.
Some versions of the claim call for a nationwide ban on the burqa, after the incident highlighted in the video.
An archive of this video can be accessed here.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
Under one of the claims on Facebook, we saw a box that suggested viewing "more original videos by: Sonu Choudhary Films."
The prompt suggested viewing more of Sonu Choudhary Films.
(Source: Facebook/Altered by The Quint)
We went through the suggested profile, and saw that the same video was published on the page on 14 July. Here, we saw that 41 second into the video, there was a clear disclaimer which stated that the video "should be considered for entertainment purpose only."
The video carries a disclaimer in it.
(Source: Facebook/Altered by The Quint)
Further, the 'About' section of this page mentioned – "Prank video funny videos expose video Sonu Choudhary (sic)."
The page's 'About' section mentions that it makes prank and funny videos.
(Source: Facebook/Altered by The Quint)
Team WebQoof has routinely debunked several such scripted videos, which have been shared a clips of real incidents.
Despite carrying disclaimers within the video or on the original creator's social media pages, social media users tend to get misled by them, believing these clips to be actual videos of such incidents.
Clearly, this is yet another scripted video which has been shared as a real incident, with a communal spin.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)