Fact Check: Hindu boy harasses Muslim girl by removing her burqa in UP’s Muzaffarnagar? No, find the facts here
A video has been circulating with the claim that a Hindu boy forcibly removed the face veil of a Muslim girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar.
By Md Mahfooz Alam
Claim:The video shows Hindu men harassing a Muslim girl, with a Hindu boy pulling off her veil in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh.
Fact:The claim is misleading. Muzaffarnagar circle officer Raju Kumar Sao confirmed to NewsMeter that the victims were a Muslim girl and a Hindu boy, and the accused belong to the Muslim community.
Hyderabad: A video circulating on social media shows a group of men surrounding a girl, pulling the veil from her face and filming her. The video is being shared with the claim that a Hindu youth harassed a Muslim girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar.
Sharing the video, an X user wrote, “In Muzaffarnagar, a Hindu youth pulled off a Muslim girl’s burqa and yanked her braid, even tried to remove her clothes. Six people have been arrested in this case. But who gave them the right to touch the girl? Such scoundrels should be exiled from the country.” (Translated from Hindu) (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading, as the man seen pulling the veil belongs to the Muslim community.
We contacted the police in Muzaffarnagar, who confirmed that the incident happened under their jurisdiction. Speaking to NewsMeter, Muzaffarnagar circle officer Raju Kumar Sao dismissed the claim that a Hindu youth harassed the Muslim girl. He clarified, “The victims were a Muslim girl and a Hindu boy, and the accused are from the Muslim community.” Responding to inquiries about the man in a white dress seen pulling the girl’s veil, he confirmed, “He is a Muslim, and his name is Sartaj. The other five accused are also Muslims.”
The official X handle of Muzaffarnagar Police shared a video in which Sao addressed the incident.
He stated that on April 12, 2025, between 4 pm and 4:30 pm, a Hindu youth from Shamli and a Muslim girl from Khalapar were returning after collecting a loan instalment for Utkarsh Small Finance Bank when they were stopped, harassed and assaulted by some locals near Darziwali Gali in Khalapar. Following a complaint, the police launched an investigation, reviewed video evidence, and registered a case. Six individuals have been identified and arrested, with further action underway against others involved.
Navbharat Times, in its April 14 report on the incident, stated that after identifying the accused, police conducted raids and arrested six individuals—Sartaj, Shadab, Umar, Arsh, Shoaib, and Shami—in connection with the case. Following their arrest, the accused were reportedly unable to walk properly due to the treatment they received in custody. Muzaffarnagar City CO Raju Sao confirmed that all six were interrogated and subsequently sent to jail.
We also found a video showing the six accused limping, which was shared by multiple media outlets. Bharat Samachar reported that in Muzaffarnagar, the so-called ‘custodians of religion’ who forcefully pulled off the burqa of a Muslim girl were arrested by the police. NDTV reported that the six accused—Sartaj, Shadab, Umar, Arsh, Shoaib, and Shami—have been taken into custody in connection with the case.
Therefore, we conclude that the claim alleging that a Hindu man harassed a Muslim girl by pulling off her veil is misleading.
