A CCTV footage showing a group of men attacking shopkeepers with swords and sticks inside their shop is going viral with a claim that the incident happened after the release of Vivek Agnihotri's 'The Kashmir Files.'
The film, which is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley in 1990, had led to several instances of anti-Muslim hate speeches and sloganeering in theatres.
However, this video is from Gujarat's Surat and isn't related to the release of the film. Further, we got in touch with the police and a local reporter who confirmed that this was a 'personal matter' and had nothing to do with the film.
CLAIM
The video is being shared with claims that say, "ये सब कश्मीर फाइल्स फिल्म देखने के बाद का सीन है! मुसलमानों को अपनी सुरक्षा के लिए हमेशा तैयार रहें क्योंकि आतंकी अब खुलेआम आतंक करेंगे!"
(Translation : This is a scene after watching the movie Kashmir Files! Always be ready for your safety Muslims because terrorists will now openly terrorise!)
An archive of this post can be seen here.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
On conducting a reverse image search using Google, we found out an article on News18 Gujarati, which was published on 20 March 2022.
The article mentions that the accused attacked the shopkeepers over an installment payment issue.
(Source: Website/Screenshot)
The article carries screenshots from the same video and also reports that two shopkeepers who have a shop near Umiya Mata temple in Bhathena area of Surat were attacked with swords and sticks.
The shopkeepers were allegedly asked to pay an 'instalment' by attackers and were attacked when they refused to do so.
Speaking to The Quint, Police Inspector AA Chaudhari from Salabatpura police station said that both the parties involved in the incident belonged to the same community.
"This incident took place on 15 March. They live in front of each other and share a history of enmity which led to one of the party getting violent against the other. Now all of them are in jail."AA CHAUDHARI, POLICE INSPECTOR
He further clarified that this news is not linked to the release of The Kashmir Files.
We also verified these details with the help of a local reporter who shared the FIR with us.
The FIR clarifies that 10 out of 11 accused were Muslims and the complainant was Hasim Shabbirbhai Syed.
Evidently, an unrelated video was linked to the release of the film.
Several such claims have been doing the rounds on social media. For instance: A video which shows a woman beating a Muslim man as a result of The Kashmir Files had gone viral.
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