A video which shows a gravely injured man lying on the floor is being shared on various social media platforms with a false communal claim – that a Hindu youth was murdered in broad daylight by Muslims in the “name of secularism.”
We, however, found that it’s a case of family dispute and both the victim and the accused belong to the same community. The video is from 5 June, when Mohammad Imran Khan was murdered by his relatives Mohammad Mehtab Khan, Mohammad Taleb Khan, Mohammad Arbaz Khan, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Ghouse Khan.
THE CLAIM
The video, which is being massively shared on Twitter and Facebook, is being shared along with a claim which identifies the victim as a ‘Hindu youth’.
The claim reads: “आंध्र प्रदेश में मुस्लिम युवकों ने हिन्दू- मुस्लिम भाईचारे की मिसाल कायम करते हुए एक हिन्दू युवक को दिनदहाड़े चाकू से गोद कर मार डाला”
[Translation: In an example of Hindu-Muslim unity, Muslim men in Andhra Pradesh murdered a Hindu youth by stabbing him to death with a knife in broad daylight.]
The same video is also being shared with a separate claim, which states that the incident took place in Guwahati.
WHAT WE FOUND
We fragmented the video into multiple keyframes using the InVid Google Chrome extension and followed it up with a Yandex reverse image search. This directed us to a video of the incident posted on Facebook by a page called BNN Channel. According to the details provided in the video, the incident took place at Rein Bazaar area of Hyderabad.
Next, we reached out to officials at the Rein Bazaar Police Station, who informed us that the incident indeed took place at Zafar Road which falls under their jurisdiction. They also told us that both the victim and accused belong to the same community.
“The victim is not Hindu. It was a case of a family dispute where both the victim and the accused belong to the same community. All the culprits have been arrested,” the Police said.
A keyword search using the terms “Rein Bazaar Murder” also helped us find several news reports about the incident. According to a report by The Times of India, “On 5 June, Mohammad Imran Khan was murdered at Zafar Road by his relatives – Mohammad Mehtab Khan, Mohammad Taleb Khan, Mohammad Arbaz Khan, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Ghouse Khan.”
Another report by The New Indian Express states that the “deceased was getting his father’s government job, which his step brothers did not like and killed him.”
Clearly, a murder over a family dispute in Hyderabad is being shared on social media with a false communal spin.
(With inputs from SM Hoax Slayer)
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)