In 2005, the then-BSP MLA Raju Pal was murdered in Prayagraj, in which the ex-Samajwadi party leader Atiq Ahmed was the main accused. After 18 years, on Feb 24, 2023, Umesh Pal, the main witness in this case, was shot dead by some assailants in Prayagraj. During this attack, two gunners posted in his security also got injured and later succumbed to injuries. As soon as this incident came to the fore, the opposition started criticising the government for not maintaing law and order in Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile, a video of Yogi Adityanath applying ashes on his forehead with the Bollywood song “Teri Mitti” playing in the background is going viral on social media. In this 30-second-long video, he can also be seen applying ashes on others’ foreheads. While sharing this video, social media users claimed that UP CM Yogi Adityanath applied ashes from the funeral pyre of a police constable who was martyred after being injured in a fatal attack on Umesh Pal.
A Twitter user shared this video and wrote, “बस इतनी सी वजह है….की आपका #सम्मान बाकियों से ज्यादा है मेरी नजर में…@myogiadityanath ज़ी #प्रयागराज में उमेश पाल हत्याकांड में शहीद हुए पुलिस कांस्टेबल की राख को सर-माथे पर लगाते हमारे श्री #योगी_आदित्यनाथ_महाराज जी.”
[English Translation: This is the only reason… that I respect you more than anyone else Yogi Adityanath Ji. Our Shri Yogi Adityanath Maharaj ji is applying the ashes of the police constable who was martyred in the Umesh Pal murder case in Prayagraj.]
Another user wrote, “प्रयागराज उत्तर प्रदेश में उमेश पाल हत्याकांड में अपनी ड्यूटी करते, शहीद हुए पुलिस कांस्टेबल की चिता की राख को सर माथे पर लगाते हुये मुख्यमंत्री, उत्तर प्रदेश श्री योगी आदित्यनाथ जी महाराज.”
[English Translation: The UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath applied the ashes on his forehead of the funeral pyre of the martyred police constable who died while performing his duty in the Umesh Pal murder case in Prayagraj.]
It is being widely shared on Facebook and Twitter with a similar claim.
Claim:
UP CM Yogi Adityanath applied the ashes of the constable who was martyred in the Umesh Pal murder case.
Fact Check:
The Logical Indian Fact Check team verified the viral claim and found it to be false. The viral video is from 2021 and related to Holi celebrations.
During the initial investigation, we extracted different keyframes from the viral video using the InVid tool and conducted a Google reverse image search. It led us to a tweet of Dr. Prachi Sadhvi in which similar footage can be seen. The caption of the video reads in Hindi, “हमारे सनातन की परंम्परा है होलिका की राख ठंढी होने के बाद उसे माथे पे लगाते हैं @myogiadityanath जी.”
[English Translation: Our Sanatan tradition is to apply Holika’s ashes on the forehead after it cools down @myogiadityanath ji.]
Taking a hint from it, we did an open keyword search and found a video report of News18 dated 19 March 2022. According to the report, Yogi Adityanath visited Gorakhpur and participated in the Narasimha procession. During this, he applied Holika’s ashes on his forehead which is a tradition in Gorakhnath Mandir. At 0:07 second of the time stamp, the news anchor can be heard talking about the ritual of applying Holika’s ashes on the forehead.
On searching more, we also found a report of ETV Bharat dated 19 March 2022, which mentioned about this tradition. The report states that Yogi Adityanath led the procession of Lord Narsingh in Gorakhpur after applying ’tilak’ to sages and other people present there with the ashes of Holika Dahan at Gorakhpur temple. In another report, Yogi Adityanath can also be seen applying ashes on his forehead. The title of the report reads in English, “Holi of Gorakhnath temple begins with the ashes of Holikadahan, CM Yogi leads.”
To sum up, a video of Yogi Adityanath applying the ashes of Holika Dahan on his forehead which is a tradition of Gorakhpur Temple falsely shared as UP CM applying the ashes of a police constable who was martyred in the Umesh Pal murder 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: Cropped Video Of Uddhav Thackeray Talking About Martyred Soldier ‘Aurangzeb’ Shared With False Claim
https://thelogicalindian.com/h-upload/2023/03/05/500x300_230283-new-project-2023-03-05t140424949.webp
Fact Check
2023-03-05 09:09:50.0
Old Video Of Yogi Adityanath Applying Ashes Of Holika Dahan Revived With False Claim
