A set of two images of a severely injured child has gone viral in the context of the 14-year-old Muslim boy who was assaulted in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad, reportedly for entering a temple to drink water.
Though the minor was thrashed and a video of the said incident went viral, these images could be traced back to an incident in October 2020, when a minor was beaten up by his father in Yemen’s Al Mahwit Governorate.
(Note: The images in the links below may be distressing to some. Viewer discretion is advised.)
CLAM
The two images were shared with the caption, “Someone went to the temple to drink water, and met with those thirsty for blood,” in Hindi.
The images were also shared on Twitter with the same context.
One of the images was also shared by Himanshu Valmiki, a core committee member of the Azad Samaj Party.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
A reverse image search led us to the original image in an article dated 4 October 2020 on Yemen News Now, a Yemen-based news website.
According to the article, a 12-year-old child was severely beaten by his father in the Al Mahwit Governorate. Citizens further stated that security authorities had been informed, and they had raised a demand to arrest the father.
We found similar reports by websites like Crater Sky and Alnabba-alyemeni.
We also came across the images in a report by a Morocco-based news website, ‘Akhbarona', which stated that the set of images had gone viral in Morocco as a local incident in February but the authorities had clarified that the incident took place in Yemen.
Since the images date back to October 2020, clearly they do not show the injuries of the 14-year-old boy who was beaten up in Ghaziabad.
WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE BOY IN UP?
A Muslim boy, who entered a temple to drink water on 11 March, was thrashed and a video of the incident went viral.
The Ghaziabad Police has taken cognisance of the viral video and arrested Shringi Nandan Yadav and co-accused Shivanand, who had shot the footage. An FIR has been filed against the duo under Sections 504, 505, 323 and 352.
In the video, the main accused, Yadav, can be seen asking the boy his name and that of his father’s. He then asks him why he had entered the temple, to which the latter replies that he wanted to drink water. Yadav can then be seen beating up the minor even as he pleads for mercy.
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