Citizenship Amendment Act Protests: Muslim Disguised As A Sikh? A FactCheck

A video, dating back to 2011, has been revived on social media with a false claim that a Muslim man, who disguised himself as a Sikh to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, was busted by the police.

The 15-second long clip shows a Sikh man being escorted by a policeman and a security guard when all of a sudden another policeman arrives and forcefully removes the man's turban.

A turban is a headdress worn by Sikh men and carries religious significance to the community.

"Muslim Using fake Sikh Sardar face to show that sikh are against #CAA Fake propaganda," the caption accompanying the clip claims.

The clip is viral in the backdrop of countrywide protests against the recently introduced Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and a proposed National Register of Citizens. The CAA allows refugees of six non-Muslim communities specifically from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh to seek citizenship in India. Critics say the amendment is discriminatory and goes against the secular ethos of the Indian Constitution.

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BOOM received the same video on its helpline (7700906111) from a user asking about the clip's veracity.

The claim in Hindi translates to, "Watch this 'peaceful' becoming a Sikh and rioting. This is how they become Hindus and make Hindus fight among themselves and give the community a bad name."

You can access the Facebook video below.

The video is also viral on Twitter with the same caption.

Fact Check

BOOM ran a reverse image search by using a keyframe from the clip and found an old article published by Sikhnet.com. The article had a screenshot of the same video.

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The article stated: "A Sikh youth, participating in a peaceful sit-in staged by retrenched rural veterinary pharmacists and employees, was pulled aside by police officials and his Turban was forcibly removed without cause. The police official responsible for the act is a Mohali Phase VIII Station House Officer (SHO), Sub-Inspector Kulbhushan, and he said he acted on orders from Mohali Superintendent of Police (SP)- Pritam Singh to remove the turban of the Sikh individual who had requested that his turban not be touched" (Sic)

Moreover, the article led us to the same YouTube video uploaded several years ago.

In the last week of March 2011, a massive violent protest took place in Mohali. The clash happened between retrenched rural veterinary pharmacists and the district police where vets were seeking regularisation of their contractual job, the Times of India reported.

The protest had come ahead India-Pakistan cricket match at PCA Stadium, Mohali.

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Below is an excerpt from the Indian Express.

"Hundreds of protesters, all Class IV employees were taken into preventive custody for violating the prohibitory order disallowing assembly of five or more persons in the area. Around 12.45 pm, hundreds of retrenched veterinary pharmacists, who were already an "indefinite protest" seeking restoration and regularisation of their services, began marching towards the stadium, which is to host the high-voltage semifinal between India and Pakistan on March 30." - The Indian Express

Read more here.

We found a video uploaded eight years ago on YouTube.