Fact Check: 2021 robbery-murder video from Delhi shared with a communal spin
A CCTV footage of two youths being attacked by five people is viral on social media. It is being given a communal angle. Netizens claim that the incident took place in Delhi’s Sangam Vihar and that the victims were Hindus and it was an incident of hate crime.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 3 May 2022 12:24 PM GMT
Hyderabad: A CCTV footage of two youths being attacked by five people is viral on social media. It is being given a communal angle. Netizens claim that the incident took place in Delhi's Sangam Vihar and that the victims were Hindus and it was an incident of hate crime.
The two youths were identified as Jatin and Pankaj. It is being claimed that Jatin died while Pankaj is battling for his life in a hospital.
FACT CHECK
NewsMeter performed a reverse image search on Google and found several news reports about the incident from December 2021. According to Navbharat Times and NDTV, the incident took place in Sangam Vihar when the two victims were returning from a friend's birthday party. One of the victims died and the other was severely injured. They were identified as Pankaj and Jatin.
A statement given by the Delhi police to ANI stated that the accused hail from both Hindu and Muslim communities. "There is no communal angle in this matter," the Delhi police confirmed. It was a robbery-cum-murder case.
According to Indian Express, Pankaj lodged a complaint saying, "They asked us to give them our belongings, but we refused. They started beating us and forcibly tried to loot us. We resisted… They threatened to kill us… they picked up stones and thrashed us. While beating us… they took Rs. 3,000 from Jatin's wallet and some documents. They dumped us in the canal and fled."
The 24-year-old Jatin was allegedly beaten to death while Pankaj was severely injured for resisting a robbery bid.
Evidently, a five-month-old incident of a robbery-cum-murder is being falsely shared with a communal spin.
