Old, Unrelated Clip Viral as People in Amritsar Protesting Against Indian Army

This video predates India's Operation Sindoor and is from April. It is unrelated to the Indian army or government.

A clip featuring a crowd shouting slogans, purportedly protesting against the Indian army and the union government in Amritsar, is being shared on social media platforms.

• In the video, some individuals could be seen wearing turbans and chanting the word 'Murdabad.'

• The video is being linked to the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan.

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false.

• This is a video from April showing a demonstration opposing a biogas facility in Akhara village, Punjab.

• The crowd was chanting slogans against the Punjab administration and the state Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The video is unrelated to the current India-Pakistan conflict.

What we found: We divided the viral video into multiple screenshots and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• We came across a post carrying some images on Instagram by officialharjinder_sidhu, a journalist (as per their bio).

• It carried similar frames as the viral video and was uploaded on 26 April. This meant that the video predated Operation Sindoor which happened in May.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Harjinder Sidhu (@officialharjinder_sidhu)

• The post's caption noted that the police took action in Akhara village near Jagraon in Ludhiana district. A lathi charge was done on villagers protesting against toxic bio gas plant leading to the protest shed being collapsed.

• We ran a keyword search looking for more details about the protest and came across news reports from April about this incident.

• The Times of India reported 26 April that residents of Akhara village had been protesting against the construction of a bio gas plant citing health concerns for over a year.

• The police resorted to a 'mild lathicharge' to disperse the protestors. They also detained several farmer leaders and uprooted the tents and sheds set up by the protestors, leading to anger among the villagers.

• Similarly, The Tribune and the Hindustan Times also reported on this incident from late April.

Conclusion: This video has been falsely linked to the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict. It dates back to April.

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