India TV Fact Check: The latest case of fake news involves a video showing a student being hung upside down and beaten in a madrassa. A video circulating on various social media platforms shows a child being hung upside down by his feet tied to the ceiling. In the video, he can also be seen being beaten. It is claimed that this shocking video of a child being beaten is from a madrassa in India. However, when India TV fact-checked this claim, it turned out to be completely false.
What was claimed?
While sharing this video on Facebook, a person wrote, "Is there no fear of law in our country that a young girl is being hung upside down like this by tying her feet? And why is this Taliban-style punishment being given to this girl? I think such schools should be completely banned across India and action should be taken against those who are assaulting a young girl like this."
India TV investigation
Since this video was rapidly going viral on social media and was being shared claiming it was from an Indian madrassa, we decided to investigate this claim. First, we searched various websites and social media platforms using Google Open Search. India TV’s investigation found the claim made with the viral video to be false. The investigation revealed that this video is not from India. It is an incident from Pakistan in 2018, where a madrassa cleric was seen hanging a minor student upside down and beating him. Following the video's viral spread, Pakistan's Punjab police arrested the accused teacher on June 28, 2019, for this heinous act.
What did the fact-check reveal?
Several posts made it clear that this video was old. The captions of the posts stated, "Punjab police have arrested a cleric of a madrassa who hung a minor student upside down and punished him. In the viral video on social media, a child can be seen being brutally punished and pleading for mercy." During the investigation, we found a report published by Pakistani newspaper 'The Express Tribune' on June 28, 2019. The report stated that the incident of the cleric hanging and beating the student in the madrassa took place in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. According to the report, the initial investigation by Rawalpindi police revealed that the madrassa stated this incident happened in 2018.
The accused person’s name is Noor Muhammad. He was arrested from Sadiqabad city in Pakistan’s Punjab province, where the madrasa is located. The madrasa is named 'Taleem ul Quran Islamic Academy'. India TV’s fact-check revealed that the video going viral on social media is not from India but from Pakistan and was being circulated with false claims. Therefore, people are advised to be cautious of such posts.
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