Fake news clip about Dalit girl beheading six Muslim men in U.P. goes viral

By: Annet Preethi Furtado
June 23 2023

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Context

A purported news clip in Hindi which claims that a "Dalit girl has allegedly beheaded six Muslim men for giving her rape threats and forcing her to convert" is viral on social media. The screenshot carries the logo of U.P. Tak, a India Today Group news portal.

The article goes on to claim that the girl is absconding and the heads of the said men were found at a temple on June 13 in Babatpur, Varanasi. The “report” suggests that despite repeated attempts to file a complaint, the police didn’t take any action against the Muslim men.  

However, we found that the clip is fake. The police and U.P. Tak clarified that no such incident was reported.

In Fact

We couldn’t find any news report with the same or similar headline on U.P. Tak’s website.

Upon closer examination, we discovered various irregularities in the purported viral report. The report carried an image of a temple which was actually the Salori Temple in Allahabad city. Additionally, the image of police officers standing was a file photo, which has been previously used by The Indian Express in 2021 and 2022. 

The advertisement at the bottom left corner of the clip is an old one from the website of Webdunia, a Hindi media outlet. The websites logo is also visible. 

U.P. Tak also posted a clarification on its Twitter account and wrote in Hindi, “The news circulating on the social is fake.”

Speaking to Logically Facts, Saravanan T, additional deputy commissioner of police of Gomati Zone and Crime, U.P., said, “No such incident has been reported in Babatpur'' and added that the news is “100 percent fake.” 

The Verdict

There are errors that point toward the fact that the news report is fake. In addition to this, the police and U.P. Tak both have clarified that no such incident has been reported.