Misleading Claim on NIT Srinagar Student's Controversial Post on Prophet Viral

The claim is misleading, formal investigation has been initiated against the NIT student.

A video showing several students protesting on the streets is going viral on social media to claim that it shows students from National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar.

What does the claim say?: It states that a student from NIT Srinagar was sent home without any charges after he posted derogatory video about Prophet Muhammad.

• The claim also draws a comparison between this situation and seven Kashmiri students who were recently arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for celebrating Australia's win in the 2023 ICC Men's World Cup.

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

What's the truth?: The video shows students of NIT Srinagar staging a protest against one student who had re-posted content against Prophet Muhammad.

• However, the police has initiated legal action against him.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a relevant keyword search and came across several news reports about this protest.

• An article shared by The Indian Express on 29 November 2023 stated that several students from NIT, Srinagar protested against "an allegedly blasphemous social media post against prophet Muhammad by a student of the institute."

• It added that the top officials of the institute assured action against the student and also involved the police to initiate legal action.

• We also found a post on X (formerly Twitter) by a local media in Kashmir, Gulistan News, which carried a quote by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir VK Birdi stating that legal action was initiated based on the Registrar’s request.

• He also mentioned that the student had re-shared a YouTube video which is under investigation.

IGP Kashmir VK Birdi's reaction on NIT incident...#JammuAndKashmir #GulistanNews pic.twitter.com/1tSrskukAo

— Gulistan News (@GulistanNewsTV) November 28, 2023

• We also found Srinagar police's post on X from 29 November 2023 which stated that police has registered an FIR against the student.

Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI) also shared a quote by Jammu and Kashmir DGP RR Swain who stated that the police is taking this matter seriously and is carrying out the investigation on this matter.

Conclusion: A misleading angle was added to a case of a student from NIT Srinagar posting derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad.

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