False News: Kancha Illaiah on Cops Stopping Him From Entering JNU

CLAIM

Amid JNU protests against the fee hike, an image is being widely circulated on social media claiming that the man in the photo is a JNU student. Delhi Police allegedly stopped the man from entering JNU and said, “There is a riot going on inside the campus. Parents and guardians cannot visit for some days.”

To which the man allegedly responded, “But I am a JNU student.”

A Facebook page called ‘Bohot bhukh lagi hai yaar subah se kuch nahi khaya’ shared the image and had received an engagement of over 1,600 shares at the time this story was published.

Some Facebook users further shared the image with the claim that the man seen in the photo is a 47-year-old Moinuddin from Kerala and has been studying at JNU since 1989.

WHAT’S THE TRUTH?

The man in the picture is Kancha Ilaiah, a writer and a Dalit rights activist. Speaking to The Quint, he said, “This is false news. If this kind of fake news is circulated, it is only to increase the credibility of the police and the state. I am retired professor who is known all over the country.”

47-YEAR-OLD MOINUDDIN?

This is not the first time that a person has been misidentified as a 47-year-old Moinuddin from Kerala. Earlier as well, an image had gone viral with the same claim, and had wrongly identified 30-year-old Pankaj Mishra from Allahabad, who is pursuing MPhil from the varsity.

Speaking to The Quint, he said “You have identified me as 47-year-old Moinuddin... Tomorrow if I am simply roaming around, somebody might just thrash me saying I’m a JNU student who’s protesting against the government. That’s not what we’re doing. Protesting against the country and against the government are two very different things.”

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