Footage of killings in broad daylight in Hyderabad, India falsely shared as Tamil Nadu killings

Footage of a brutal attack on a busy street in broad daylight has surfaced on social media posts falsely claiming it shows a gang in India’s Tamil Nadu attacking a migrant worker in Bihar state. The clip was shared as reports of violence against Hindi-speaking activists sparked panic in the predominantly Tamil-speaking state, despite local officials claiming the rumors were baseless. However, the attack in the video took place in a different part of India. Police said the deceased was a local and not a migrant worker.

Warning: graphic footage

The footage shows three men beating a man lying on the ground beside a busy road post March 4 on Facebook.

“Uproar in Tamil Nadu. Hindi speaking people are being beaten up in Tamil Nadu,” the Hindi-language post said.

The video has over 4,900 views.

Screenshot of the fake Facebook post, taken on March 5, 2023

opposition party One of the most widely spoken languages ​​in India hindi A long-standing political issue in Tamil Nadu, where Tamil is the official language.

Officials in Tamil Nadu have denied reports of attacks against migrant workers, which have sparked panic and allegedly prompting some to flee the state.

The video of the attack was also shared on Facebook alongside similar false claims here And here And on Twitter here.

Attack on Hyderabad

A reverse image search of the video found a screenshot from the clip in an article about a murder in Hyderabad, a city in Telangana state.

“Hyderabad: Brother of man killed in broad daylight demands death sentence as police identify 3 accused,” read Report Published by The South First on January 23.

According to The South First, the video shows a 29-year-old man being killed on January 22.

Below is a comparison of the screenshot of the video shared in the fake post (left) and the screenshot image published by The South First (right):

Comparison of screenshots of videos shared in fake posts (left) and screenshot images published by The South First (right)

The story continues

The New Indian Express And The Times of India The killing was also reported by publishing screenshots from the same video.

The report identified the deceased as Jangam Sainath, a glass cutter and carpenter, who was murdered in Jiyaguda area of ​​Hyderabad.

Kulsumpura police inspector T Ashok Kumar, who oversees the area where the killing took place, denied the claim that the video showed an attack on a migrant worker.

“The incident took place in January this year. Four people have been arrested in the incident. It is a case of personal enmity and they are all locals,” he told AFP.

Matches the footage (bottom-left). Google directions Photo of Jiyaguda (below-right).

Screenshot comparison of the scene from the video shared in the fake post (left) and a Google Street View image of Jiagudar (right), with similarities identified by AFP

Further, the vehicle’s registration plates in the video feature “AP” and “TS”, indicating the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Hyderabad was the capital of Andhra Pradesh separate state Telangana was formed and Hyderabad became the capital of the new state.

Registration plates in Tamil Nadu start with “TN”.