Old banners with objectionable comments are from UP, not West Bengal

Hyderabad: Several images of banners carrying objectionable comments regarding Hindus by Islamic leaders Zakir Naik and Shahi Imam of Jama masjid Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari are being widely shared on social media. Users claim these were pasted on some walls in West Bengal.

The first banner along with Zakir Naik image reads, ‘मुसलमाननेहिंदुस्तानपर 1100 सालराजकिया।लाखोंहिंदुओंकेसरकलमकिए।करोड़ोंहिंदुओंकोधर्मपरिवर्तनकरमुसलमानबनाया।भारतकेटुकड़ेकरपाकिस्तानऔरबांग्लादेशबनाया। 2000 मंदिरतोड़करमस्जिदबनाई।हिंदूआजभीहमारेडरसेहिंदूमुस्लिमभाई-भाईकेनारेलगातेहैं।यहइस्लाम की ताकत .’

“Muslims ruled India for 1100 years. Beheaded millions of Hindus. Crores of Hindus were converted to Islam by conversion. Pakistan and Bangladesh were created by breaking India into pieces. 2000 temples were demolished and a mosque was built. Hindus still raise slogans of Hindu Muslim Bhai Bhai because of our fear. This is the power of Islam,” its English translation reads.’

Similarly, the second banner containing the image of Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari reads, 'हिंदुस्तानकेउत्तरप्रदेश, बंगाल, केरल, हैदराबाद, असममेंमुसलमानबहुसंख्यकहोचुकेहैं।इस्लामअनुसारमुस्लिमबहुतइलाकोंमेंगैरमुस्लिमोंकीमौजूदगीहरामहै।इसलिएहिंदूइनइलाकोंकोखालीकरदें, वरनाइनकेसाथहमवहीकरेंगेजोकश्मीरमेंहिंदूपंडितों के साथ किया।

Which translates to, ‘Muslims have become the majority in Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, Kerala, Hyderabad, Assam of India. According to Islam, the presence of non-Muslims in Muslim-dominated areas is haram. That's why Hindus vacate these areas, otherwise, we will do to them what was done to Hindu Pandits in Kashmir.’

The Instagram reel could be seen on the Instagram account of an influencer with the username Anurag Rathore who claims the banners to hail from West Bengal.

Is it really so, let's find out.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found the claim to be false as the banners were installed in Uttar Pradesh, not West Bengal.

We started our investigation by performing a keyword search using the relevant key phrases and found a tweet on X dated 12th August 2021, on the official X handle of Pratapgarh police. In the tweet, the Superintendent of Police could be seen saying, “About the action being taken in the case of some mischievous elements putting up objectionable hoardings in Kunda town under Kunda police station area of district Pratapgarh.”

With this, it is evident that the communal hoardings were installed in Kunda Town of Pratapgarh, UP, not West Bengal.

Moreover, we also found a media report on News Today Network reporting the incident on 13th August 2021 titled: “'UP: Efforts to spoil the atmosphere in Pratapgarh, provocative posters pasted on the wall of Raja Bhaiya's school”

“In Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh, miscreants pasted inflammatory posters on the school wall with the intention of disturbing communal harmony. This school belongs to Raja Bhaiya. When people saw these posters in the morning, they got angry. Police later brought down the posters. Police are now on the lookout for the person who put up the posters,” the report says.