A CCTV video showing disturbing visuals of a group of men attack some Muslim men inside a shop with sword and sticks is viral with false and communal claims.
One of the captions claim that the incident is in the aftermath of film 'The Kashmir Files' and calls for Muslims to be prepared for similar incidents.
BOOM found that the video is from Surat, Gujarat and the claims circulating with the video are false. We spoke to the local police who confirmed that the incident has nothing to do with Vivek Agnihotri directed film - The Kashmir Files. The FIR report filed in the case shows 10 of the 11 accused in the case belonged to the Muslim community.
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Ever since its release, The Kashmir Files has been in news for various reasons. Videos of right wing crowds raising slogans in cinema halls after watching the film have surfaced on social media. The film has also kick started a flurry of misinformation around it. Read BOOM's fact checks related to The Kashmir Files here.
The viral video shows a two men armed with sword and iron pipe viciously attack a group of Muslim men sitting inside a shop. Three different videos of the same incident shot from different angles are viral on social media with false captions.
A Twitter user shared the video with a Hindi caption translating to 'This is all a scene after watching the movie Kashmir Files! Always be ready for your safety Muslims because terrorists will now openly terrorize!'.
(Hindi: ये सब कश्मीर फाइल्स फिल्म देखने के बाद का सीन है! मुसलमानों को अपनी सुरक्षा के लिए हमेशा तैयार रहें क्योंकि आतंकी अब खुलेआम आतंक करेंगे!)
The same video is viral on Facebook with a similar Hindi claim translating to 'Muslims will have to think about their security and be prepared. These are scenes after watching Kashmir Files'.
(Hindi: मुसलमानों को सुरक्षा के लिए सोचना पड़ेगा और तैयारियां रखनी पड़ेगी ये सब कश्मीर फाइल्स फ़िल्म देखने के बाद का सीन है)
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Fact Check
BOOM found that one of the videos showing the disturbing incident has a logo of @Surat_Breking on it. We found an Instagram handle with the same name where the video was uploaded with details in Gujarati.
The text in Gujarati, when translated, reads 'Miscreants have created havoc in Salabatpura. Two electrical stores run by Muslims which are near Bhate's Umiyamata mandir were attacked. Using a piece of wood as a sword, they attacked the shopkeeper. The whole ruckus was caught on a cctv camera'.
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Taking cue, we did a key word search with related words in Gujarati and found a news report published in News 18 Gujarati on March 20 with screenshots from the same video. The headline of the Gujarati article translates to 'Video: Lukkha terror in Surat, sword attack on shopkeeper protesting against installment payment'.
(Gujarati: Video: સુરતમાં લુખ્ખાઓનો આતંક, હપ્તા આપવાનો વિરોધ કરનાર દુકાનદાર ઉપર તલવાર પડે કરાયો હુમલો)
The news report states that the incident took place in Salabatpura area of Bhathena in Surat, Gujarat when a anti-social elements attacked a shopkeeper. The news report mentioned that the shopkeeper had refused to give 'installment' to the perpetrator of the incident.
The article no where mentions that the incident had a communal angle to it.
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BOOM then called the Salabatpura police station to get more details on the case. A police inspector told BOOM that there was no communal angle in the incident.
"The incident took place on March 15. The groups had an internal dispute that resulted in the attack. The victim as well as the culprit belonged to the same community. The men injured and the person seen in black T-shirt in the video are from the Muslim community," the inspector told BOOM.
He also denied the claims that the incident was a result of film The Kashmir Files.
BOOM also checked the FIR filed in the case and found that 10 of the 11 accused named therein are from the Muslim community.