From old and unrelated visuals going viral on the internet with the claim that migrants from Bihar are being attacked in Tamil Nadu to false communal claims around the murder of a DJ in Hyderabad, here are some pieces of misinformation that went viral this week.
1. Unrelated Videos Shared as 'Bihar Migrant Workers Attacked in Tamil Nadu'
Several unrelated and old videos are doing the rounds on social media with a claim that migrant workers from Bihar have been attacked in Tamil Nadu. We found at least four such videos that are being used to push this narrative online.
Following the viral trend, Sylendra Babu, Director General of Police, Tamil Nadu even issued a clarification on Twitter on 2 March stating that the videos are "false". He spoke about two specific videos in his statement.
(Note: We have refrained from adding any links due to the violent nature of the videos.)
VIDEO 1: IT'S FROM HYDERABAD, NOT TAMIL NADU
BJP Bihar's Twitter account shared a graphic and a screenshot claiming that "12 migrant workers were killed in Tamil Nadu" Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav was celebrating Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin's birthday.
However, the video is from Jiyaguda in Hyderabad and it shows a 29-year-old Jangam Sainath being hacked to death in January 2023.
VIDEO 2: VIDEO FROM JODHPUR
Another video showing a group of men brutally assaulting a man was also shared with the same claim.
But, it shows an attack on a lawyer named Jugraj Chauhan in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The accused were identified as Anil Chauhan and Mukesh Chauhan. As per reports, the incident happened due to a long-standing dispute.
The Quint's WebQoof had earlier debunked this video when it was viral with a communal claim in February 2023.
VIDEO 3: OLD INCIDENT FROM KARNATAKA
Another gruesome video, which shows four people attacking a man with an axe on a street, is also being shared.
The Quint's WebQoof team had debunked the same video in 2021, when we found that the video showed the murder of one Anwar Shaikh by a group of axe-wielding attackers in Haveri, Karnataka.
Shaikh was reportedly a gangster in the area who had a number of charges against him, including extortion and murder.
VIDEO 4: VIDEO FROM COIMBATORE
A Facebook page 'A24 News' shared two videos, of which one has been debunked above. The other one shows a group of men attacking another one.
However, this video is from Coimbatore and shows a five-member gang attacking a 24-year-old murder accused, Gokul, near the combined court complex.
You can read our story here.
2. Incident of DJ's Murder in Hyderabad Shared With a False Communal Spin
Several users on social media, including the right-wing propaganda website OpIndia, Editor-in-Chief of news channel News1India Anurag Chaddha, and a verified account Sangarsh Satya Ke Liye, shared details about a murder in Hyderabad and gave it a communal spin.
The claim states that Harish Kumar (28), a DJ operator from Telangana, was 'killed by a Muslim woman's brother for falling in love with her'.
The viral posts claimed that Kumar was killed by his wife's family after they got married.
(Source: Altered by The Quint)
However on 1 March, Deen Dayal allegedly killed Kumar at Dulapally village in Telangana for eloping with his sister, Manisha.
Dayal and nine of his friends have been arrested by the Telangana Petbasheerabad police. They have been charged under section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). One accused, Band Venkat, is still at large.
Speaking to The Quint, Gouri Prashanth, inspector at Petbasheerabad, Cyberabad clarified that there is no communal angle to the incident.
You can read our story here.
3. Viral Video Showing 'Bihar Migrant Workers Attacked in Tamil Nadu' is Scripted!
Several screenshots of a video showing two injured men are going viral on social media with a claim that they are migrant workers from Bihar who were attacked in Tamil Nadu.
The claim was shared by Manish Kasyap, a journalist with Sach Tak News, along with several social media users.
The claim states that the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav should pay attention to the matter of 'Bihar migrants facing atrocities' in Tamil Nadu.
However, these screenshots are from a scripted video, which was uploaded on YouTube and Facebook on 6 March 2023.
You can read our story here.
This is a scripted video and does not show real migrants from Bihar.
(Source: Altered by The Quint)
4. Fact-Check: Did Italian PM Refuse to Shake Hands With PM Modi?
The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently visited India for a state visit on 2 March. But a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting with his Italian counterpart is being shared online with a false claim.
Those sharing the photo claimed that PM Meloni refused to shake hands with PM Modi.
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
5. No, This Video Doesn't Show an Attack on a Nepali National in Bengaluru
A video showing a woman being attacked by a group of men on a busy road is going viral on social media with a claim that a girl from Nepal was allegedly murdered on the Mahatma Gandhi road in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
(Note: We have refrained from adding any archive links due to the distressing nature of the visuals.)
Although this video is from Bengaluru, Karnataka, it does not show an attack on a woman from Nepal.
We reached out to CK Baba, Deputy Commissioner of Police of Bengaluru City, South East who confirmed to us that this is an old video.
This video dates back to December 2021 when a Bengaluru resident Archana Reddy (38) was allegedly murdered by her second husband Naveen Kumar (35) over a property dispute.
Reddy's 21-year-old daughter from her first marriage was also reportedly involved.
You can read our story here.
The video is old and does not show a Nepali woman being hit.
(Source: Altered by The Quint)
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