A video showing members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad raising 'Hindustan Murdabad' slogans in the backdrop of a protest march in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh against the terror attacks in Pulwama has gone viral on social media.
Meanwhile the official handle of the Gonda Police have called news reports about the video misleading and have tweeted another video from the same protest where protesters can be heard chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai ' among other anti-Pakistan and pro-India slogans.
VHP members raising Hindustan Murdabad slogan
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The ten-second-long clip shows a group of men raising slogans of 'Bharatiya Sena Zindabad' , which is followed by 'Hindustan Murdabad'.
The protest march was held in Gonda's Mujehna block on February 19, where some VHP members had gathered to protest the February 14 attack on CRPF personnel in Pulwama, Kashmir.
While some on the social media are calling it a Freudian slip, others have condemned it and demanded the arrest of persons involved. Several netizens have also called the clip fake on account of the tweet by Gonda police.
Fact Check A fact-check shows that there are two separate videos, one which shows the protesters chanting 'Hindustan Murdabad ' while another which shows them saying 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' . Both videos were not shot at the exact same location as protesters can be seen walking in the video.
A close look at the first video reveals that the man standing second from left (in the video) says Murdabad when another man shouts Hindustan . When he is corrected by the person standing next to him, he giggles. Following which someone from the group signals to stop recording.
Gonda police has issued a denial from its official Twitter handle calling news reports about the video misleading and say the video was being spread with a false narrative online.
They also tweeted a second video separate from the one that went viral where protesters can be heard raising anti-Pakistan and pro-India slogans.
BOOM reached out to the Gonda SP office to verify the video. The PRO on duty told us that the incident was nothing but a misunderstanding among the group members. When we asked him if any action was initiated against those involved, he said there's no offence committed and thus no action was initiated.
In its notice issued regarding the incident, the police department has mentioned that 'the news was being spread with a false narrative'.
Hindi daily Dainik Jagran also reported the incident. The article can be accessed here .
Jagran, in its article, reports 'interestingly, the cops gave the accused a clean chit without conducting any technical examination or consulting experts in the matter.No case was registered .' (हैरत की बात यह है कि बगैर तकनीकी परीक्षण या विशेषज्ञों की जांच के पुलिस ने आरोपितों को क्लीनचिट दे दी। उसने मुकदमा दर्ज नहीं किया ।)
Dainik Jagran article
BOOM also called up VHP Lucknow unit head Bholendra who requested us to send him the video clip. Interestingly, Bholendra denied any links with the slognaeering youth. "I checked it with the VHP members there (Gonda). The video is true but the youngsters seen shouting the slogans do not belong to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. I have informed the administration in this regard. We did organize protests over the Pulwama incident but that was on February 15," Bholendra told BOOM.