Videos of Atiq and Ashraf Ahmad's assassins chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' after the shooting not edited

By: Ishita Goel
April 19 2023

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Context

On April 15, 2023, Uttar Pradesh gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were being taken for a medical examination in Prayagraj when three youths shot the two men dead. These three youths posed as journalists and fired at Atiq and Ashraf during their interaction with the media. The police arrested the three on the spot. The Prayaraj Police has constituted a three-member special investigation team (SIT) to probe the shootings, reported The Indian Express.

Following the developments which have made headlines across India, several claims have gone viral on social media. One such video shared on social media by news media and others shows the youths chanting the religious slogan "Jai Shri Ram" while being arrested. Several users have claimed that this video was edited and no chanting was heard. They also claimed that the police officials and media personnel there had refuted it.

However, there is no evidence these videos have been edited, and all sources point to the fact that the religious slogans were raised. 

In Fact

We looked at various reports posted by credible media outlets and journalists present during the firing at the scene. Piyush Rai, a journalist with The Quint, based in Uttar Pradesh, tweeted a video on April 16, showing police apprehending one of the accused. Loud chants of "Jai Shri Ram" can be heard. Rai captioned his tweet, "Disturbing visuals of one of the suspects raising slogans of "Jai Shri Ram" while being apprehended by policemen in Prayagraj after Atiq and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range." His video bears no signs of being tampered with.

Similarly, Gaurav Arora, a journalist with the Indian news agency ANI, shared another video on Twitter of Atiq and Ashraf speaking to the media. The video also captured a man shooting and the police apprehending one of the accused in a blue and white shirt. Chanting can also be heard in the background after the shooting. He shared the video with the text, “Atiq Ahmad Shooters Caught On Camera Shooting and Chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' This is disgusting #AtiqueAhmad #AtiqAhmad.”

Hindustan Times also published a video news report on YouTube with clips of the footage of the incident. In one such clip, at the 1:40 timestamp, the accused in the blue and white checked shirt can be seen shouting "Jai Shri Ram.” The Wire also published a report on April 19, with statements from ANI journalist Vikash Srivastava, one of the media members present at the shooting scene. Srivastava, too, corroborated the raising of religious slogans by the accused. "They impersonated journalists so they could join the media personnel crowded outside the medical college. After killing Atiq and Ashraf, they shouted 'Jai Shri Ram,'" he told The Wire.

Further, all the initial reports about the shooting mentioned the raising of such religious chants. All this proves that the assassins did chant the slogan "Jai Shri Ram." Apart from being a religious slogan, the chant is often used by right-wing groups during processions or gatherings. The Vishva Hindu Parishad, a Hindutva outlet, has denied any connection with the three accused. 

The Verdict

The video evidence published by all media houses and eyewitness statements from the crime scene shows that the shooters chanted "Jai Shri Ram." There is no evidence of video manipulation or dubbing in the footage shared by credible organizations or accounts. Therefore, we mark this claim false.