Fact Check: No, Student Seen In Viral CCTV Footage Is Not One Who Was Shot At Jamia

Delhi, 17 Feb 2020 2:38 PM GMT | Updated 28 April 2020 7:37 AM GMTcheck update history

Editor : Bharat Nayak |

As the founding editor, Bharat had been heading the newsroom during the formation years of the organization and worked towards editorial policies, conceptualizing and designing campaign strategies and collaborations. He believes that through the use of digital media, one could engage the millennial's in rational conversations about pertinent social issues, provoking them to think and bring a behavioral change accordingly.

See article by Bharat Nayak

By : Aditi Chattopadhyay

Aditi, part of the fact checking team of The Logical Indian likes to read, write, cook and laugh, in short live life as it is supposed to be. What makes her fascinated is to discover the truth behind a story and more often than not, it is either fact or myth at the end.

See article by Aditi Chattopadhyay

Shadab Farooq was at an Urdu poetry event, Jashn-e-Rekhta, till 6:30 pm that was held at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, India Gate, New Delhi on 15th December.

[Correction: The earlier title of the article "Fact Check: No, Student Carrying Stone In Viral CCTV Footage Is Not One Who Was Shot At Jamia" incorrectly stated the man in the video was carrying a stone. A fact check by Alt News now establishes that the man was carrying a wallet and a phone in his hand. The Logical Indian has updated the headline to correct the factual error.]

A WhatsApp forward, a tweet from a verified account, claiming that one of the Jamia students seen in the viral CCTV footage is Shadab Farooq, who got shot by the Jamia shooter, is doing rounds on social media.

The tweet by Vikrant Kumar, a founding member of online news portal 'Lopak', asks the question whether the person seen in the video is Shadab.

This claim has been retweeted over 6,000 times and has also gone viral on Facebook.

Several videos propagating the misleading claim has been doing the rounds in social media.

Check it out 🙌 pic.twitter.com/yqlpP8Ovgl
— 🇮🇳 माँ Bhaरती 🇮🇳 (@IIBeingM44ll) February 16, 2020

Same guy here no? https://t.co/lPkOgUZjPm
— Mad Scientist (@solarpower4all) February 16, 2020

Claim:

Jamia student seen in viral footage is Shadab Farooq, who got shot by the Jamia Shooter

Fact Check:

The claim is false.

Shadab Farooq and the student seen in the video are two different people.

The person in the video has been identified as Mohammad Ashraf Bhat, a PhD candidate from the Political Science Department in Social Science faculty under Professor Kadloor Savitri at the Jamia Millia Islamia University.

The Logical Indian tried reaching out to Bhat. His friends confirmed his identity but stated that he did not want to be contacted. He has taken down his social media accounts.

Facebook posts identifying him have also surfaced.

"I was the student of the same department from 2015-17. Bhat got into PhD in 2017. Although we never contacted each other. My juniors, batchmates and seniors are still there who helped in recognising him," Rahul Tiwari a former student of the Political Science department at the Jamia Millia Islamia University told The Logical Indian.

On the official website of Jamia Millia Islamia University, Bhat's name has been listed out amongst the PhD students.

A reply from one of Shadab Farooq's friend to the viral tweet places him elsewhere on the night of 15th December and not on the Jamia campus.

He was at the Jashn-e-Rekhta, which is an Urdu poetry event, till 6:30 pm that was held at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, India Gate, New Delhi on 15th December, Monazza Aarfa told The Logical Indian.

Aarfa also provided us with pictures from the event.

The date and time stamp clearly shows that Farooq was a part of that event.