Old Photo From Gujarat Shared With False Claim Targetting Mulayam Singh Yadav And Samajwadi Party

Image Credit: Twitter

The Logical Indian Crew

Old Photo From Gujarat Shared With False Claim Targetting Mulayam Singh Yadav And Samajwadi Party

A photo is shared claiming that it exposes the treatment of Hindu saints by the UP Police during SP governance. The photo is old and is of Gujarat.

  • Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Linkedin
  • Print
  • koo
  • Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Linkedin
  • Print
  • koo
  • Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Linkedin
  • Print
  • koo

A photo is viral on social media, asserting that it was shot when the founder-patron of the Samajwadi Party (SP), Mulayam Singh Yadav, held office as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP). The photo is shared claiming that it exposes the treatment of Hindu saints by the UP Police during SP governance. The picture shows a uniformed man holding a gun and dragging a man by his hair.

A Facebook user shared the photo and captioned it in Hindi, "हमारे संतो का बाल पकड़ कर खिंचवाने वाला कोई जेहादी नही था,,,वो अखिलेश यादव के अब्बा जान थे तो जब 3 महीने बाद वोट माँगने आए तो याद रखना."

[English translation: There was no jihadi to pull the hair of our saints, He was Akhilesh Yadav's father, so remember when he comes to ask for votes after three months.]

A Twitter user shared the photo and captioned it in Hindi, "हमारे संतो का बाल पकड़ कर खिंचवाने वाला कोई जेहादी नही था,,,वो अखिलेश यादव का बाप था...याद है ना ??"

[English translation: There was no jihadi to pull the hair of our saints, He was the father of Akhilesh Yadav...you remember right??]

This post got 5k+ likes and 2k retweets.

The photo is viral on Facebook and Twitter with the same claim.

Claim:

A photo exposes the treatment of Hindu saints by the Police during Mulayam Singh led SP governance in Uttar Pradesh.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian Fact Check team verified the claim and found it false. The viral photo is old and was shot in November 2009 during a raid conducted in Asaram Bapu's Motera Ashram of Gujarat.

We conducted a Google reverse image search of the viral photo, which led us to an article on the official website of Asaram Bapu's ashram. The article was published on 29 November 2009 and carried pictures similar to the viral photo. According to the report, Gandhinagar police ordered a lathi charge over participants in a rally who earlier pelted stones on the police and the police arrested 236 people. We can access the article through the Wayback machine, click here to read.

Image Credit: Ashram.org

The incident was reported by other Indian media outlets, including Times of India, Indian Express, NDTV, and India TV. According to their reports, on 26 November 2009, Asaram followers clashed with the police after being restricted from entering the Gandhinagar collector's office to submit a memorandum. The clash led to injuries of at least 20 police officers, including the Gandhinagar DSP. Later, on 27 November 2009, a joint team of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar police conducted a raid at Motera Ashram of Asaram Bapu. The police arrested around 200 people and beat up followers who tried to escape.

Using specific keywords, we searched on the internet and found some video reports of the raid. The videos carried similar visuals as the viral photo.

The YouTube channel of Sant Shri Asharamji Ashram and Aaj Tak had posted the video and had visuals of a similar-looking man who appeared as a saint with longer hair.

From media reports, it is evident that the saint in the viral photo is one of Asaram Bapu's followers who was dragged by the hair during a police raid conducted in the Motera Ashram by a joint team of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar police. The viral photo is old, shot in November 2009 in Gujarat and has no relation to Uttar Pradesh. The picture is viral with a false claim to defame Mulayam Singh Yadav and Samajwadi Party.

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: Minor Hindu Girl Raped By Two Muslim Boys In UP? Newspaper Clip Shared With False Communal Spin


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

Must Reads