2018 Clip of Congress' Sagheer Khan Making Controversial Remarks Viral as Recent

While the Congress leader had made the controversial remarks, the video is from 2018 and not recent.

Fact-Check | The video is from 2018 and not recent as claimed.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video of Congress' Sagheer Saeed Khan is going viral to claim that he recently blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the "killing of innocent people" in Jammu and Kashmir.

• He could be heard promising about Rs 1 crore to their families, if the Congress is voted to power.

What do viral posts say?: Those sharing the video have uploaded it with a caption that said, "Congress exposed again, Now its Top J&K leader & AICC observer Sagheer Saeed Khan is allegedly promising to give ₹ 1 crore each to the family members of terrorists killed by Indian Armed Forces..."

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)

When this report was being written, the post had garnered over 4.5 lakh views on the platform. You can view archives of similar claims here, here, and here.

Is this claim true?: While Khan did make the controversial statements, the video dates back to December 2018 and not recent. The Congress party had distanced itself from Khan's remarks.

What led us to the truth?: A simple Google Lens search directed us to the longer version of the video, which was uploaded on the official YouTube channel of Republic World.

• The video was published on 26 December 2018 and was titled, "Congress Makes Terror Reward Promise In Jammu And Kashmir."

• It showed Khan saying that the BJP has committed atrocities on the people in J&K. He continued by saying that if the Congress comes to power, the 'innocent people' who have died will be given Rs 1 crore.

• Khan further said that 'innocent people' kept in jail under terrorism charges will also be freed.

News reports: A report published in News18 said that Khan triggered a major controversy in J&K after he said that his party will give Rs 1 crore and give jobs to the kin of those killed in Kashmir in the name of terrorism.

• Khan, who served as a minority cell observer of the All India Congress Committee, promised to release militants.

• The report further mentioned that the Congress leader talked about a new law which would be made to hang BJP leaders involved in killings of people in Kashmir.

• ABP News, too, shared a video report on their official YouTube channel which can be found here.

The report was last updated on 27 December 2018.

(Source: News18/Screenshot)

What did Congress say?: Chief spokesperson of J&K Congress, Ravinder Sharma, had distanced the party from Khan's controversial remarks after an outrage, India Today reported.

• Team WebQoof found a statement uploaded on the Congress' J&K official Facebook handle, where Sharma could be seen rejected Khan's remarks.

Conclusion: It is clear that an old statement from Congress leader Sagheer Saeed Khan is being falsely shared as a recent one.

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