2018 video of Congress leader’s remark on Kashmir shared as recent

By: Annet Preethi Furtado
May 14 2024

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Screenshots of the viral claim that a video shows Congress leader Sagheer Saeed Khan promising ₹1 crore to families of terrorists killed by Indian Armed Forces during 2024 elections. (Source: X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

What’s the claim?
A viral video on social media purports to show a recent remark made by a Congress leader Haji Sagheer Saeed Khan accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "killing innocent people in Kashmir" and promising compensation to the families of the deceased. 

In the video, Khan says, “Kashmir used to be known as heaven, it is now filled with corpses…those innocent people who were killed here, if Congress comes to power, their families will be given Rs one crore compensation and a job to one person. Those innocent people who are behind the bars in terror cases will be released. The BJP leaders who are responsible for the killings here, no matter how prominent and powerful they are, a new law will be enacted, and they will be hanged…The army is just following their orders.” 

Megh Updates, an account on X (formerly Twitter) that regularly shares misinformation, shared the video claiming that it showed Khan 'promising Rs one crore each to the family members of terrorists killed by Indian Armed Forces'. The post had garnered nearly 4,68,800 views at the time of writing this story. 

Several users shared the video with hashtags relating to the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, impliying that the video is recent. Archives of such posts can be found here, here, and here. The claim was also shared on Facebook and an archive can be seen here.

Screenshot of the viral social media posts. Source: (Facebook/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Organiser, a publication affiliated with the Hindu right-wing organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), also published a report (archived here) on May 8, 2024, based on Megh Updates' post.

However, the video is not recent. Khan made this comment in December 2018, and Congress had distanced itself from his statement at the time.

What we found

Haji Sagheer Saeed Khan is a prominent Congress leader in Jammu and Kashmir. Back in 2018, he was the minority cell observer of the All India Congress Committee. His Facebook (archived here) page, last updated in October 2023, mentions his position as “Vice President, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, Minority, Lucknow, UP.” 

We noted the logo of Republic, an Indian news channel, is displayed prominently throughout the footage. 

Taking a cue from this, we found a longer version of the viral video on the official channel of Republic World (archived here), dated December 26, 2018. The first 2 minutes and 45 seconds of this video match with the viral clip.

A video published on December 27, 2018 on the official YouTube channel of ABP News (archived here) also carried the footage of Khan’s comments. This confirms that the comment is are old and has nothing to do with the ongoing general elections.

We also found a report published by India Today which outlined the BJP's response, with accusations leveled against the Congress for Khan's statements that were termed “pro-terror”. 

How did the Congress respond?

Congress distanced itself from Khan's remarks. Ravinder Sharma (archived here), the chief spokesperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee said, “The Congress disowns and rejects Sagheer Saeed Khan's statement. He has no mandate to speak on such issues. Only the party spokesperson or party president can issue any policy statement in this matter.. but not without the approval of the central leadership. We have requested the party's minority department to take action against him. The Congress party believes that there can be no leniency in matters pertaining to terrorism.” 

The verdict

The viral video claiming to show a recent statement by Congress leader Sagheer Saeed Khan dates back to 2018. Moreover, the Congress party had disowned itself from the statement at that time.