Social media posts claiming Hindus etched the phrase 'Jai Bholenath' on a specially-abled Muslim boy's forehead in Bareily, Uttar Pradesh are false.
A video of a woman complaining that the person who committed the act on the specially-abled boy and called it a prank when confronted by others, went viral on social media platforms earlier this week.
BOOM found that there is no communal angle to the incident. We reached out to Bareilly Police who confirmed that both the victim and the accused belong to the same community.
The video is being shared with a Hindi caption that translates to, "Uttar Pradesh - "Jai Bholenath" was marked on the forehead of a disabled Muslim youth "Shadab" by heating iron rods. Sanatani's have become so disgusting, now they have started showing their dirty tricks on disabled people. Now the police will say that it is not the fault of the one who did it, it is the fault of the one who made the video viral."
(Original Text in Hindi: उत्तरप्रदेश - विकलांग मुस्लिम युवक "शादाब" के पेशानी पर लेहे के छड़ गरम करके दाग दिया "जय भोलेनाथ" इतने घिनौने हो गए हैं सनातनी के अब विकलांग लोगों पर अपनी घटिया पाना दिखाने लगे हैं, अब पुलिस ये कहेगी के जिसने किया उसकी गलती नहीं हैं जिसने वीडियो वायरल किया उसकी गलती है।)
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Fact Check
BOOM ran a related keyword search in Hindi and found a post by Journalist Utkarsh Singh from September 4, 2023, carrying the same video.
Singh posted the video on X (formerly Twitter) mentioning the victim's name as Danish and the accused's name as Shadab in the case.
Bareilly Police also replied to the post and confirmed the same information. They wrote, "An investigation regarding the case revealed that about 5 days ago a person named Shadab Khan had written a religious sentence on the forehead of his cousin with a marker pen which has become lighter now. The victim's mother refused to take any action in this regard and has not filed a complaint application."
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We also found several news reports covering the incident that took place at Shahabad area in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh.
A report published by ABP Live on September 4, 2023, states that Danish's family members came to know about the matter when the youth reached his home and informed them about the incident. The article further said that the police nabbed the accused, but the victim's family later withdrew their complaint.
For further clarification, we also reached out to Prem Nagar police station SHO Rajesh Singh. Singh refuted the communal claim saying that both the victim and accused belong to the same community.
Singh told BOOM, "Around 6 days ago, this incident took place. A person named Shadab wrote these religious things on the forehead of his cousin Danish with a marker pen. When other relatives of Danish came to know about the incident, they came to the police station to file a complaint. However, the victim's mother refused to lodge any complaint."