Jag Bani Shares Old Visuals Claiming ‘Pak is Sending Muslims Disguised as Sikhs'

The visuals used in the report are from a video that dates back to 2011.

Fact-Check | The claim stating that Pakistan is sending Muslims to Punjab by disguising them as Sikhs is false.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Jag Bani - a Punjabi newspaper from the Punjab Kesari group - published an article on Friday, 24 March, stating that Pakistan is sending Muslims to India by disguising them as Sikhs to "ignite the fire of Khalistan on the land of Punjab."

Along with the piece, the Punjabi daily has also published visuals of several policemen apprehending a man wearing turban.

(Swipe right for translation.)

The report was published in today's edition of the daily.

The report was published in today's edition of the daily.

What does the news piece say?: It mentioned that a video of a fake Sikh being captured by the Punjab police has surfaced. The report further said that Pakistan is using this new tactic of sending Muslims impersonating Sikhs to disturb the peace in Punjab.

So, what's the issue here?: The visuals used in the report to support the claim are from a video that dates back to 2011.

• It was from an incident when several police personnel pulled up a Sikh man during a protest in Punjab's Mohali. His turban was forcibly removed.

How did we find out?: The Quint had previously debunked the same clip in 2019, which was viral with a claim stating that a Muslim man was impersonating a Sikh and instigating violence.

• We found a video with similar visuals uploaded on a channel 'torontosikh' on 30 March 2011.

• The video was titled, "Sikh Youth's turban removed 28 March @ Mohali Stadium."

• On comparing the pictures in the report to some keyframes of the video, we found they are from the same incident.

  (Swipe right to view all comparisons.)

A comparison clearly highlights the similarities.

A comparison clearly highlights the similarities.

Details about the incident: According to a report published on a website called SikhNet, the incident took place on 28 March 2011.

• It said, "A Sikh youth participating in a peaceful sit-in was pulled aside by police officials, and his Turban was forcibly removed without cause by a Police officer."

• It further mentioned that a United Sikhs' Chandigarh-based lawyer registered a complaint against the police officer responsible under Section 295A (deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class of [citizens of India]) of the Indian Penal Code.

News reports: A Times Of India report corroborated the details and said that two officers of the Punjab police, including a Superintendent of Police (SP) and a Station House Officer (SHO), were suspended following the incident.

• It added that the incident happened near the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali.

Conclusion: Punjabi daily Jag Bani shared old and unrelated visuals to claim that Pakistan is sending Muslims disguised as Sikhs to India.

(With inputs from Sandeep Singh.)

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