How much impact can a rumour have? It can cause people to lose their homes. On 9 August, a video showing members of the Hindu Raksha Dal destroying some shanties in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad came to light.
In the video, the organisation's president Pinky Chaudhary, along with others, could be seen verbally and physically abusing the residents of these tents, with batons and sticks.
The organisation accused the people of being Bangladeshi. However, a police investigation found these statements to be baseless.
When The Quint's Team WebQoof reached the spot to find out the truth behind the matter, other people living near the spot told us that the people who were assaulted on suspicion of being Bangladeshis, were actually people who hailed from Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur.
The Uttar Pradesh police has arrested Pinky Chaudhary. Despite their clarification, some social media users are still sharing posts, claiming that the residents of the tent were from Bangladesh.
YouTuber Ajeet Bharti, who has been caught peddling misinformation in the past, also shared this claim.
The FIR (First Information Report) registered by the UP Police clearly states that the people whose house was vandalised were not from Bangladesh.
The Truth Behind the ‘Bangladeshi’ Claim
Speaking to The Quint's fact-checking team, WebQoof, Kavinagar ACP Abhishek Shrivastav said that from the documents they obtained from the victims, it was evident that they were Indians, who were residents of UP's Shahjahanpur.
"An FIR has been registered in the case and our investigation is underway. In the investigation so far, we obtained documents from the people (whose house was demolished). According to those, they were not from Bangladesh. They are residents of Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur."Abhishek Shrivastav, ACP Kavinagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
When The Quint's fact-checking team reached the spot on the ground, we found that the people whose house was vandalised had left the area. The objects used to demolish their house lay scattered on the ground.
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The tent's residents were brutally thrashed and had to flee.
(Photo: The Quint/Shivkumar Maurya)
'Beaten for Being Muslim': Neighbours
People present at the spot told us that when members of the Hindu Raksha Dal arrived, the immediately started asking them to identify Muslims living in the area. Those who identified themselves as Muslims were then beaten up.
Those belonging to the Hindu community here had put up flags on their houses, because they believed that doing so would distinctly mark their houses as Hindu homes and might prevent similar action against them.
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Some residents have hoisted these flags on their homes, for their safety.
(Photo: The Quint/Shivkumar Maurya)
What did the Hindu Raksha Dal say?: We reached out to Sanket Katara, the spokesperson of the Hindu Raksha Dal, to understand the source of the 'Bangladeshi' rumour. Katara claimed that they were informed about it by some people from the Muslim community.
However, when asked for evidence, they failed to provide any. Katara went on to accuse the police of "trying to protect themselves" by saying that the people that were attacked were not from Bangladesh.
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