Fact Check: Fake news claims BJP leader arrested in connection with recent Naxal attack
After the news of 22 jawans killed in the recent Chhattisgarh Naxal attack, a newspaper clipping of Hindi daily...
By Newsmeter Network Published on 10 April 2021 6:30 AM GMT
Hyderabad: After the news of 22 jawans killed in the recent Chhattisgarh Naxal attack, a newspaper clipping of Hindi daily NavaBharat has gone viral on social media. The news article claims that a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was arrested in connection to the Naxal attack.
The headline of the Hindi article translates to "Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh Bijapur; 24 martyred, 31 injured while the sub-headline reads Two arrested including BJP leader.
The archived versions of similar posts can be viewed here and here.
However, the news clipping has been edited and no such report was published by NavaBharat.
Fact Check:
We noticed the words 'NavaBharat News Network' in the news clipping and searched e-papers of NavaBharat and found the same headline and text in its 5 April edition.
We noticed that although the headline in the e-paper was the same as the viral clipping, the sub-heading had been edited. The original article is titled "2,059 soldiers were on a search for Hidma". It has been edited to "Two arrested including BJP leader".
The comparison of the original clipping with the viral image can be seen below.
However, the news about a BJP leader being arrested in Chhattisgarh for helping the Naxalites is true. This incident took place in June 2020. According to a report by the Times of India, "Chhattisgarh police on Sunday arrested a BJP leader and his accomplice in the strife-torn Dantewada for allegedly supplying a tractor and other goods to the Maoists in south Bastar."
However, the viral clipping does not represent this story. An old news story has been revived and linked to the recent Naxal attack. NavaBharat did not publish a report claiming that a BJP leader was arrested for helping the Maoists in Chhattisgarh.
