Fact-Check: Did Congress' Kamal Nath Call Atiq Ahmed’s Murder ‘Unfortunate’?

A longer video showed Kamal Nath referring to the condition of law and order in Uttar Pradesh.

Fact-Check | The viral video has been clipped and being shared with a misleading claim.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

An 18-second-long video of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath is going viral on the internet. It shows Nath responding to a question about mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed's assassination. He could be heard saying, "See, it is a very unfortunate thing".

What are users claiming?: People on social media are targeting the leader and the Congress party and criticising them for siding with mafia and goons.

An archive of the post can be seen here.

(Source: Twitter/Screeenshot)

(More archives to similar claims can be found here and here.)

What is the truth?: The video is clipped and is being shared out of context. In a longer version, Nath could be heard making the statement while referring to the law-and-order situation in Uttar Pradesh.

How did we find out?: We searched for the video on Congress' social media platforms and came across a longer version of the viral clip.

• It was uploaded on 16 April on the Indian National Congress - Madhya Pradesh's Facebook page.

• At around the 2:06 mark, we could see the viral clip playing.

• While responding to questions about Atiq's murder, Nath could be heard saying, "See, it is very unfortunate, what do these murders that are happening in broad daylight indicate? Where is the law and order? What kind of politics is happening in Uttar Pradesh and in the country?."

• Further, he can be heard expressing concern and said that the society should think where UP and the entire country is heading.

• Nath also mentioned that the Supreme Court should take notice of the incident and should order a probe.

News reports: A keyword search led us to a report published in Hindustan Times which mentioned that Nath had demanded a "Supreme Court-probe into the gunning down" of Atiq and his brother Ashraf Ahmed in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj.

• It further mentioned that Bharatiya Janata Party MP spokesperson Narendra Saluja alleged that Nath is siding with mafia.

The report was published on 16 April.

(Source: Hindustan Times/Screenshot)

• A similar report was also published on Dainik Bhaskar.

The case: Atiq and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were killed while talking to media personnel in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on 15 April. The Quint had uploaded a video about the incident which also contain parts of what the First Information Report filed by the police said.

Conclusion: A clipped video of former MP CM Kamal Nath is being shared out-of-context to claim that he called Atiq Ahmed's death "unfortunate".

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