Fact Check: Weapons are being sent safely hidden in a container of ghee? What is the truth of this video?

New Delhi: The administration is very alert regarding peace and security after the violence that broke out on November 24 over the mosque dispute in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh. Four people lost their lives and 29 policemen were injured in this violence. Along with appealing to people to maintain peace, rumors are also being prevented from spreading. However, some people are still sharing such fake news, pictures and videos on social media, which have nothing to do with reality. One such video is being shared on social media with misleading claims. It is seen in the video that two people were arrested with boxes of vanaspati ghee. Weapons were kept hidden inside these boxes of ghee. It is being said that both of them are members of RSS, who were taking care of these weapons as part of a conspiracy. Although, alert During the team’s investigation, this claim turned out to be misleading.

What is the claim on social media?

This video was tweeted on X (Twitter) by the handle ‘Fire Starter’ and it is written, ‘An RSS member was caught with live cartridges and weapons. These weapons were being taken to Sambhal to incite communal violence. Will UP government impose NSA against this? Or is NSA only for innocent Sikhs? See the tweet-

Another X handle ‘Khalsa Vision’ also tweeted this video and wrote, ‘An RSS member has been arrested with live cartridges and weapons for inciting communal violence in Sambhal. Will Uttar Pradesh government impose NSA against him/her? Or is NSA only for innocent Sikhs? See the tweet-

On X itself, a user named ‘Anil Bhardwaj’ has described the arrested people seen in the video as being of Muslim religion. he/she has written in his/her post, ‘See how these peace messengers are bringing weapons in a planned manner, to create riots, the police caught them at the right time otherwise… Pakistani weapons found in Sambhal are proof of this.’ See the tweet-

Apart from these, an X handle named ‘We The People’ has shared this video with another claim. This handle has written in the caption accompanying the video, ‘In this way Mlechchha are smuggling weapons to spread unrest in our country. Now they have been caught. The name on the box is ‘Shri Hari’, there is smuggled pistol inside. See the tweet-

Know the whole truth of the video

To know the truth of all these posts, the Vigilant team took a screen shot of the video and searched it with Google Lens. On searching we get Hindustan Times of 26 September 2019 and times of India Found two links to the website’s news dated 27 September 2019. This news is about the same video and the two arrested people, which is being made viral by linking it to Sambhal.

According to both these reports, this incident took place in the country’s capital Delhi, where these two arms smugglers were caught about five years ago. The Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested both these arms smugglers. These smugglers were bringing pistols hidden in ghee containers and they were arrested from Ghazipur Road in East Delhi. 26 pistols were recovered from them.

The names of the arrested smugglers are Jitendra and Raj Bahadur. Among them, Raj Bahadur is Jitendra’s brother-in-law. They used to bring weapons from Madhya Pradesh and sell them in Delhi-NCR. DCP Pramod Singh Kushwaha of Special Cell had told that Jitendra and Raj Bahadur used to buy .32 bore pistol from Madhya Pradesh for Rs 8 thousand to 12 thousand. Then they were sold in Delhi-NCR for Rs 25 to 30 thousand.

The police was keeping an eye on Jitendra’s activities for a long time. Police received information that Jitendra and his/her brother-in-law were bringing weapons in a Mahindra Bolero car. Based on this information, the police tried to stop the vehicle on Ghazipur Road. But, the accused drove away the car. The police had set up barricades some distance ahead. There he/she was caught.

While searching the vehicle, the police found two big plastic containers filled with ghee. When the boxes were examined, 26 pistols were found wrapped in polythene under a thick layer of ghee.

conclusion

The claims being made regarding this video going viral on social media are misleading. A five year old video is being made viral by linking it to the violence in Sambhal. alert During the team’s investigation, the claim going viral on social media was found to be false and misleading. Both the arrested smugglers are neither associated with RSS nor belong to Muslim religion.