Old video from Tamil Nadu goes viral linking to the recent Murshidabad protest over the Waqf Bill.

This is an old video from Tamil Nadu and it has no link to the recent Murshidabad protest over the Waqf Bill.

Unrest broke out in Murshidabad in West Bengal during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act on 11 April. The law has been a contentious issue in the region. The protests turned violent, resulting in the deaths of some people and injuries to several others, with widespread property damage. Against this backdrop, a video of an angry mob grabbing a police officer’s phone while he was making a call in public place is going viral on social media with the claim that it shows a recent incident during the ongoing violence in Murshidabad.

Let’s check the truth

Facebook Post| Archive link

Fact Check-

By performing a reverse image search with the key frames of the viral video led us to a Facebook post of  BJP Hosur, sharing the same video in February 2019. The video was captioned “Police department’s situation in the area where Muslims live more in Tamil Nadu. Vellore district only at #Vaniyampadi. The police officer is disgraced to this extent.” This indicates that the video is not recent and dates back to 2019. The incident happened in Tamil Nadu.

As the video gained traction on social media, Tirupathur District Police issued a clarification on Twitter on 27 February stating that the video is old. It states, “A video is being shared in the social media platforms with the claim that people were seen engaging in a tussle with a sub inspector of police from Vaniyambadi town police station. The incident is from 2019, and people are spreading the video, stating that the incident happened recently.” 

Facebook post

This confirms that the video is old not related to the recent violence in West Bengal.

Conclusion-

Fact Crescendo found that the claim made along with the viral video to be False. This is an old video from Tamil Nadu showing a mob snatching a mobile phone from a police officer. It has no link to the recent Murshidabad protest over the Waqf Bill.