Media Falsely Play CCTV Footage Of Odisha Man As Wanted Guddu Muslim In Umesh Pal Murder Case

The CCTV footage of a man in a white shirt has been telecasted on several mainstream media channels claiming him to be Gangster Guddu Muslim, an accused in the well-known Umesh Pal murder case. While playing the footage, the news presenters said it was captured in Odisha on April 11 and added that the gangster's last known location was Odisha.

Lawyer Umesh Pal was a crucial witness in the 2005 murder case of the former Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Raju Pal in Uttar Pradesh (UP). Pal was assassinated outside his Prayagraj residence in February 2023 in broad daylight while accompanied by two armed police personnel. One of the ten accused in the case is Guddu Muslim, a close associate of the slain mobster Atiq Ahmed who allegedly hatched the murderous scheme and is fleeing.

Through its official Twitter handle, Aaj Tak shared a video of its bulletin that featured the trending footage. Shubhankar Mishra, the anchor, says, "This is the latest video of gangster Guddu Muslim." The post was shared with a Hindi caption, "बमबाज गुड्डू मुस्लिम की नई CCTV तस्वीर आई सामने". (English translation: New CCTV picture of notorious Guddu Muslim surfaced).

News18 India also aired the footage, and Anand Narasimhan, the anchor, explained that the person was Guddu Muslim and was last seen in Odisha. The same was shared on their social media platforms as breaking news with a Hindi caption, "#GudduMuslim का नया विडियो, ओडिशा में दिखा गुड्डू मुस्लिम, 11 अप्रैल 2023 का वताया जा रहा है विडियो." (English translation: New video of Guddu Muslim, Guddu Muslim seen in Odisha, video is being told of April 11, 2023.)

Several other media channels, including ABP News, ABP Ganga, Punjab Kesari-UP/UK, Zee Delhi-NCR-Haryana, TV9 Bharatvarsh, News Nation published the same viral footage claiming the person to be Gangster Guddu Muslim whose last known location was Odisha.

Claim:

Viral CCTV footage shows Gangster Guddu Muslim last seen in Odisha.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian fact check team verified the claim and found it false as the person in the viral CCTV footage is a resident of Odisha and not a wanted Gangster Guddu Muslim.

After the CCTV footage and the news went viral, a man identifying himself as Hamid Mohammad from the Sohela village in the Bargarh district of Odisha came forward, claiming that the person in the security camera film was him, not Guddu Muslim.

Journalist Ashok Pradhan, the chief of the Bhubaneswar bureau for Times of India, shared a video of Hamid Mohammad on Twitter with the caption, "Hamid Mohammad of Sohela village in Bargarh district was shown was #GudduMuslim by section of news channels." Mohammad said in the Odia language, "My name is Sheikh Hamid Mohammad. We used to come here for Namaz. We arrived here. They identify me as Guddu Muslim after taking my photo on the camera. They are circulating rumors. I got to know about it after seeing it on TV. According to some boys, my face was on TV and shown as that of a Guddu Muslim".

It is to be noted that Sohela is a gram panchayat on the national highway (NH) that connects Raipur in Madhya Pradesh with Sambalpur in Odisha. It is the final locality of the interstate border in Odisha. The region has a substantial Muslim population with a mosque right on the NH.

As per a local source aware of the proceedings, a team of special task force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh (UP) police had come to Sohela in search of Guddu Muslim. They caught Raza Khan, a local goon whose call records suggested that he was in touch with the driver of Guddu Muslim and possibly the gangster also. Further, the fact-checking website Alt News stated that the UP STF took Khan to the Mosque, obtained the security camera footage, and provided the tape to the national media.

Journalist Ankit Mishra, working at India TV News shared another video of Hamid Mohammad on Twitter with a Hindi caption, "बंबाज गुड्डू मुस्लिम का एक वीडियो आज सबके सामने आया जिसकी लोकेशन ओडिशा बताई गई... और उसके बाद ये एक आदमी सामने आया जो कह रहा है कि गुड्डू मुस्लिम नही वो खुद था देखना ये होगा कि सच कौन बोल रहा है....." (English translation: Today a video of notorious Guddu Muslim came in front of everyone whose location was told as Odisha... And after that a man came in front who is saying that it was not Guddu Muslim but he himself, it will be interesting to see who is telling the truth.....)

In the video, Mohammad said in Hindi, which roughly translates to English, "I am Sheikh Hamid Mohammad from Sohela district. I came here to offer prayers during the month of Ramzan when the CCTV camera captured me. Some boys came up to me and showed me the video that many news channels have shared, claiming it is Guddu Muslim; it is me in the viral video. All the people (news channels) who shared this misinformation to defame another person must be held accountable, and the real culprit should be held and punished.

Further, here is a photo comparison of both the people, Sheikh Hamid Mohammad in the viral footage and wanted Guddu Muslim.

Conclusion:

A viral CCTV footage claiming to show Guddu Muslim, one of the ten accused in the Umesh Pal Muder case, is false as the person is Hamid Mohammad, a resident of the Sohela village in the Bargarh district of Odisha. Hence, the viral footage shared by Indian media is false

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

Also Read: Bundles Of Notes Recovered From Tyre In Karnataka? Old Video Revived Ahead Of Assembly Elections