A set of two photos showing broken pieces of a statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is viral with a fake claim that Muslims in Seelampur, Delhi were behind the vandalism. Seelampur in north-east Delhi is currently grappling with communal riots.
The images are viral along with a claim in Hind that translates to: "those who beat the drum of Dalit-Muslim unity by raising the slogan of Jai Bhim Jai Meme, watch, Muslims did not leave Baba Saheb Ambedkar in Delhi Seelampur."
(In Hindi: जय भीम जय मीम का नारा लगाकर दलित मुस्लिम एकता का ढोल पीटने वालों देखों दिल्ली सीलमपुर में बाबा साहेब अंबेडकर जी को भी नही छोड़ा मुस्लिमों नें|)
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The posts are widely shared on Twitter and Facebook. A few of them can be accessed below.
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Fact Check
We performed a revered image search with one of the photos in the set. We found one Somvir Singh's Tweet from February 26, 2020, consisting of the same photos. He had tagged the Twitter handles of Uttar Pradesh police and Sultanpur police on his tweet. He also wrote the below description of the incident in Hindi.
Description: "Yesterday on February 25, 2020 at gram sabha Katghar, a statue of Baba Saheb has been disintegrated by some miscreants, please take appropriate action. @Uppolice @112UttarPradesh @dgpup gram sabha Katghar, Chauhan Thana Karaundi Kalan, Kadipur, Sultanpur Uttar Pradesh."
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In the comment section of the above tweet, UP Police replied and had asked PRO cell among others to take action. To which Sultanpur police replied: "In the above case, inspector in-charge (at the) Karaundi Kalan (police station) conveyed that the case has been registered and legal proceedings are underway."
(In Hindi: उक्त प्रकरण में प्रभारी निरीक्षक करौदीकलां द्वारा अवगत कराया गया कि मुकदमा पंजीकृत कर वैधानिक कार्यवाही की जा रही है।)
This clarifies that the incident never happened in Delhi.
BOOM also contacted the Sultanpur police who confirmed the same.
"The incident indeed happened in Karaundi Kalan, and the claims that it is from Delhi is fake. The case has been registered and an investigation is on," a police officer told BOOM. It is not clear yet who was behind the vandalism.
We tried reaching out to Karaundi Kalan police inspector, the article will be updated upon receiving a response.