No, That’s Not a Burqa-Clad Collector in Karnataka Hoisting the National Flag

The video is from Jammu and Kashmir and shows the vice chairperson of Kishtwar's District Development Council.

The video shows Independence Day celebrations in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district.

(Source: Facebook/Altered by The Quint)

A video of a burqa-clad woman, being accompanied by uniformed police officers during a flag hoisting event is being shared on social media.

The claim: It is being shared with text in Hindi, which reads, "हिन्दुओ का एक भी गलत वोट देश को इस्लामिक मुल्क मे तब्दील कर सकता है l शुरूवात हो चुकी है कर्नाटक राज्य मे एक कलेक्टर ने झँडावंदन करते समय, बुर्का पहन कर सलामी ली...नई शुरुआत l कुछ समझे या फिर.... "

[Translation: One wrong vote by Hindus can change the country into an Islamic nation. It has begun. A collector in Karnataka hoisted the flag while wearing a burqa. It's a new beginning. Do you understand?]

An archive of this post can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Archives of more claims on social media can be seen here, here, and here.)

But...?: The video is from Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar and shows the vice chairperson of the District's Development Council, Saima Parveen Lone.

How did we find out?: In the video, we noticed a hoarding in the background mentioned the place Kishtwar.

The board reads 'Kishtwar'.

(Source: Facebook/Altered by The Quint)

Taking a cue from this, we used relevant keywords on search engines and social media platforms for more information on the viral video.

• This led us to a video by a page called 'Fast News' on Facebook, which is source of the claim.

• In the caption, Fast News mentioned that the video showed Vice Chairperson Saima Parveen Lone, who hoisted the tricolour at Kishtwar's Chowgan ground.

• "First time in history vice chairperson Kishtwar Saima Parveen lone addressed the general public of Kishtwar with hijab (sic)," it added.

The Kishtwar district administration's Facebook page posted photographs from the event, which named Lone and shared her pictures.

The post said that Lone acknowledged freedom fighters' role in securing "freedom from colonial rule" in her address, emphasising on "significant developmental achievements" in the district.

• She also spoke about the "completion of works worth 108.32 crore rupees" and ongoing projects, including a community health center in Marwah, a multipurpose stadium and an allopathic treatment centre in Inderwal, which were expected to be completed by September, it read.

• A live video of the event was posted by a local journalist, which showed similar visuals as the video in the viral claim.

• We also noticed a symbol resembling the logo of the Jammu and Kashmir police in the viral video.

There are several banners showing the Jammu and Kashmir Police's logo in the video.

(Source: Facebook/X/Altered by The Quint)

• Kashmir-based media organisation, Greater Kashmir, published an article about Independence Day celebrations across Jammu, mentioning Lone in their section about the event in Kishtwar.

The article mentioned Lone's name in its coverage.

(Source: Greater Kashmir/Altered by The Quint)

Conclusion: A video of Saima Parveen Lone, vice chairperson of the District Development Council in J&K's Kishtwar, is being falsely shared as a video from Karnataka.

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