Old Video Of Burqa Clad Man Arrested For Smuggling Alcohol Viral With Fake Communal Spin

The viral video is from an arrest of people illegally smuggling alcohol in Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh. The viral video has been circulating with false claims since August 2020.

A video showing a burqa-clad person being held by police officials is going viral on social media. The video shows a burqa-wearing person being apprehended by the police and asked to take off the burqa. Then it is revealed that the person in the burqa is a man. While sharing this video, people on social media claimed that Karnataka Police arrested a burqa-clad man for pelting stones and plotting to defame Muslims.

A Twitter user shared this video and wrote caption in Hindi which reads, "मुसलमान को बदनाम करने के लिये बुर्का पहन कर कर्नाटक में पथराव कर रहा था ये! भक्तों भाजपा के ख़िलाफ़ साज़िश मत कहना अभी भाजपा की सरकार ही है वहाँ! मोदी जी कपड़े से पहचानो"

[English Translation: He was pelting stones in Karnataka wearing a burqa to defame Muslims! Devotees, don't say that it's a conspiracy against BJP, beacause there is a BJP government in Karnataka right now. Modi ji, identify them by their clothes.]

Another user wrote, "How low will you stoop to defame a religion,,a group of people who will do anything for money were caught pelting stones at the police wearing a burqa in #Karnataka #KarnatakaAssemblyElection2023".


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

Claim:

Karnataka Police arrested a burqa-clad man for pelting stones and plotting to defame Muslims.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian Fact Check team verified the viral claim and found it to be false. The viral video is from August 2020.

We conducted a reverse image search on the viral video using Invid's Keyframe Analysis tool. We found the following report by ETV Andhra Pradesh. We can see the similar footage in the report as seen in the viral video. The video title reads: "Several Arrested | for Transfer Illegal Liquor with Wearing Burqa | at Kurnool Dist". The video was uploaded on the ETV channel on August 8th, 2020.

The video shows burqa-wearing men being apprehended for carrying alcohol illegally. As per this India Today report, the arrested people were transporting liquor illegally from Telangana to Andhra Pradesh. As per the report, Gowthami Sali, the Assistant SP of Kurnool, said that this happens as liquor prices in Andhra Pradesh are much higher than in Telangana.

Image Credit: India Today
Image Credit: India Today

The ASP stated that one of the burqa-clad men had disguised himself as a woman, assuming that the police won't notice them at the check-post. As per the report, Mohammad Arif (35) and Satish Goud (46) were arrested at the Panchlingla check-post in Kurnool district.

Dr.Fakkeerappa Kaginelli, who is the Superintendent of Kurnool, said, "The burqa-clad man in this video was found carrying liquor bottles illegally across the state from Telangana to Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. Caught by Excise police, was reported on August 07, 2020, in Kurnool Taluka Police station. Stop spreading misinformation."

Chief Inspector (Excise), Kurnool district, Lakshmi Durgaiah, also declined any communal angle in the crime. The Chief Inspector stated that these men were liquor smugglers, and they were wearing burqas to conceal themselves.

Conclusion:

Our investigation shows that the viral clip is a snippet of an entire video that lacks context. The viral video is from an arrest of people illegally smuggling alcohol in Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh. The viral video has been circulating with false claims since August 2020. No communal angle was involved in this case. Hence, the viral claim 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: AajTak Passes Off AI-Generated Image Of Imran Khan In Jail As Real

Contributors Suggest Correction
Editor : Bharat Nayak
,
Creatives : Jakir Hassan

Must Reads