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Did JNU Students Fake Injuries During Violence At JNU? No, Images Viral With Fake Claim
Writer: Jakir Hassan
A journalist at heart loves the in-depth work of reporting, writing, editing, research, and data analysis. A digital and social media enthusiast.
Delhi, 12 April 2022 9:50 AM GMT | Updated 12 April 2022 12:00 PM GMT
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Creatives : Jakir Hassan
A journalist at heart loves the in-depth work of reporting, writing, editing, research, and data analysis. A digital and social media enthusiast.
Social media claimed that the two images suggest that the violence against JNU students was staged and that the students were displaying fake injuries. The Logical Indian Fact Check team verifies the claim.
A series of two photos have gone viral across social media after a physical altercation between the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University and members of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad.
The altercation broke out allegedly after ABVP students objected to non-vegetarian food being served at one of the hostels, Kaveri. As per media reports, sixteen students from both sides were injured. ABVP members accused JNU students of disrupting a hawan held on April 10, 2022, on the occasion of Ram Navami.
Meanwhile, the students from left-leaning organisations on the campus claimed that they were prevented from eating meat by ABVP, and those who protested were beaten up.
Claim:
The viral social media posts contain a collage of two photos. The first photo shows a student wearing a blue Kurti holding another student in a grey top. The second photo presumably shows the student in the grey top, who looks relatively uninjured, inspecting the student's injuries dressed in the blue Kurti, who is resting on a table.
The viral social media posts have been circulated with other images of the girl in the grey top bleeding profusely. The posts have been circulated with the claims that the two images suggest that the violence against JNU students was staged and that the students were displaying fake injuries to create "drama."
Akshit Dahiya, state secretary ABVP Delhi, shared this image and wrote a caption that reads, "JNU में लेफ्ट आतंक का पर्दाफाश !! Pic 1: Blue Girl in the first pic condoling the white top girl. Pic 2 : Girl in white top condoling blue top girl."
Anubhav Shakya, a journalist associated with Zee News, shared this image with a similar claim. He later deleted his tweet, and you can see the archive version of his tweet below.
Another user wrote, "Do less drama, you left-wing JNU people."
It is being widely shared on Facebook and Twitter with a similar claim.
Fact Check:
The Logical Indian Fact Check team verified the viral claim and found it to be false.
We conducted a reverse image search on the two viral images, which led us to an article in The National Herald. The article gave details about the assault on students and presented contrasting sides of the issue. The report also identified the student in the grey top, bleeding from the head as Akhtarista Ansari, a second-year MA student of Sociology at JNU.
The student in the blue Kurti is identified as Madhurima Kundu, who is secretary of AISA JNU unit. We searched on Twitter and came across this statement by Kundu. She shared the original photos from the viral posts and the EXIF data.
As per her tweets, she lost consciousness when she was hit in the Kaveri hostel mess, the logo of which is visible in the background of the first photo.
In another tweet, Kundu also shared a video allegedly depicting how ABVP members heckled the supplier of chicken.
The statement provided details about the duration when the photos were taken. The screenshots show EXIF data of the images that were taken during the assault on the JNU students. The first photo was taken at 8.15 PM on 10th April 2022, as per the EXIF data, and the second photo was taken at 8:21 PM.
This indicates that the photo with Ansari holding Kundu was taken before the incident, which led to the Ansari bleeding profusely. The Logical Indian team Fact Check team spoke to Madhurima Kundu, who clarified the timeline of events that led to the assault on the students.
"We were beaten up as the Kaveri hostel had cooked and served meat on Sunday. At around 7.45 pm, the ABVP members rushed inside the mess and first attacked s7.45 pm with fists and then with items they could find inside. I was hit on the head and near the eye while Akhtarista Ansari was hit on the head."
She also talked about the reasons behind why the assault took place.
"Even though this hasn't happened in previous instances of Ram Navmi, they want people to eat what they want them to eat. I have no objection against people celebrating Ram Navmi, but people should also be permitted to choose what they want to eat." Taking about the action taken by the Delhi police, Madhurima said, "No police action has been taken in this case against the ABVP students, but some of our students have been arrested and not yet been released by Delhi Police."
Conclusion:
Viral posts claim that the two images suggest that the violence against JNU students was staged and that the students are displaying fake injuries in an attempt to generate "drama." However, in actuality, the claim is fake as the EXIF data and the testimony by one of the assaulted students, Madhurima Kundu, suggest. The photos of the incident are being shared in a misleading context to put the blame on the JNU students.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
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