No, Viral Video Doesn't Show Muslim Man Lynched On Suspicion Of Cattle Theft In Bihar

A video of a man being attacked by goons is going viral on social media. In this 2:20 seconds long video, some people can be seen attacking a man with rods and sticks near a toll plaza. While sharing this video, people on social media claimed that the viral video is from Bihar, Samastipur where a Muslim youth identified as Mohammad Mustaqim was beaten to death in front of his family on charges of bull theft.

A Twitter user shared this video and wrote a caption in Hindi which reads, "ज़ुल्म कब तक. बिहार के समस्तीपुर में मोहम्मद मुस्तक़िम को कुछ लोगों ने बैल चुराने के आरोप में जान से मार दिया है अगर इस बात को समझें तो आगे आएं और इंसाफ़ दिलाने के लिए उम्मते मुहम्मदी होने का सबुत दें। इस मरहूम मोहम्मद मुस्तक़िम के लिए इंसाफ़ की मुहिम चलाएं."

[English Translation: How long the oppression? In Samastipur, Bihar, Mohammed Mustaqim has been killed by some people for stealing a bull, if you understand this, then come forward to give justice to prove you are Ummate Muhammadi. Run a campaign for justice for this late Mohammad Mustaqim.]

Another user wrote, "बिहार: समस्तीपुर में बैल चोरी के आरोप में भीड़ द्वारा मोहम्मद मुस्तक़ीम नामी युवक की बेरहमी से पीट पीटकर हत्या कर दी गई. पुलिस ने तीन नामज़द समेत अन्य अज्ञातों के ख़िलाफ़ मामला दर्ज किया है."

[English Translation: Bihar: A youth named Mohammad Mustaqim was brutally thrashed to death by a mob on charges of bull theft in Samastipur. The police have registered a case against three named and other unidentified persons.]

A Facebook user wrote, "बिहार के समस्तीपुर जिला में मोहम्मद मुस्तक़िम को कुछ लोगों ने बैल चुराने के आरोप में जान से मार दिया."

[English Translation: In Samastipur district of Bihar, a man named Mohammad Mustaqim was killed by some people for stealing a bull.]

It is being widely shared on Facebook and Twitter with a similar claim.

Claim:

Viral video shows Muslim men beaten to death on charges of bull theft.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian Fact Check team verified the claim and found it to be false. Viral video is from Hisar, Haryana and no communal angle was involved in this case.

During the initial investigation, we extracted different keyframes from the viral video and conducted a Google reverse image search leading to a report of Amar Ujala dated 3 August 2022, the viral video is from Hisar district of Haryana. According to the report, seven goons thrashed a man named Vikas in front of his wife and children. Several criminal cases were registered against the youth. The cause of the murder was old enmity between the two groups. Jaiveer Pehalwan, father of the deceased Vikas, was also murdered a few years back.

According to the report of Dainik Jagran, Vikas died in this attack. Police arrested Ajay alias Chhota Vasi in this lynching case. Police had registered a case against seven people including Kalu Dhana, Milkha Gamdi, Ankit alias Alone, Rahul alias Petu, Ajay alias Chhota, Ajay and Rohit Verma in connection with Vikas's murder. No communal angle was involved in this case as both the accused and attackers belonged to the same Muslim community.

We also found the same video on the official twitter handle of Times Now Navbharat dated August 2022. In the tweet, it was mentioned that the viral video is from Haryana.

In further investigation, we did an open keyword search and looked for media reports mentioning the lynching of a Muslim man in suspicion of cattle theft. According to the report of Dainik Bhaskar dated 31 July 2022, a mob beat a man to death on charges of cattle theft in the Samastipur district of Bihar. The deceased was identified as Mohammad Mustaki of the Begusarai district. In this case, SHO Chandrakant Gauri said that the deceased had been identified as Mohammad Mustaki (35 years), son of Mohammad Ali, a resident of Egg village of Mufassil police station area of ​​Begusarai district and the matter is of mob lynching; further action will be taken after investigating the matter. We compared the footage mentioned in the report with the viral video and found that both are different.

Our investigation shows that the viral video is from Hisar, Haryana, where a person named Vikas was beaten to death due to mutual enmity. All the accused in this case belongs to the Hindu community. However, it is true that a Muslim man identified as Mohammad Mustaki was beaten to death in Samstipur, Bihar on suspicion of cattle theft. Hence, the viral claim is misleading.

If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.

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