A video of a police official prohibiting Hindu prayers near mosques has gone viral.
The voiceover in the video identified the police official as the Nashik police commissioner. The police official can be heard saying, “People are requested not to play Hanuman Chalisa or do any bhajans or kirtans within 100 metres of a mosque during the morning Azaan, the afternoon Azaan, evening prayers and night prayers.”
Social media users are sharing the video insinuating that Hindus are being treated as second-class citizens in Maharashtra amid the recent regime. A social media user shared the video and wrote, “This is a current order from Nashik. This will happen all over India in the coming times.”
SouthCheck found that the claim was misleading. The viral video is from 2022.
On doing a Google reverse image search, we found the same video uploaded by The Economic Times on April 18, 2022. It was titled, ‘Hanuman Chalisa will not be played 15 minutes before and after the Azaan near mosques: Nashik police’.
The caption read, “Amid the row over Azaan in Maharashtra, Nashik Police Commissioner Deepak Pandey on April 18 informed that playing of Hanuman Chalisa or Bhajan will not be allowed 15 minutes before and after the Azaan within 100 metres of mosques.”
Taking this hint, we searched with relevant keywords and found a report by The Hindustan Times. The report suggested that the orders came amid repeated warnings from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray to remove loudspeakers from mosques across the state
Moreover, another report by The Quint on April 21, 2022, said that after making the statement, Deepak Pandey was transferred and replaced by Jayant Naiknavare as Nashik’s top cop. He was demoted and appointed as the special IG of Prevention of Atrocities against Women (PAW).
We also contacted Vitthal Bhadmukhe, a journalist from Nashik who confirmed that the orders are no longer applicable. We also called the police commissioner’s office in Nashik who clarified that the reports are old and the orders are no longer applicable.
A political coalition headed by Shiv Sena was formed in Maharashtra after the 2019 Legislative Assembly Elections. However, in June 2022, the government collapsed when a majority of the Shiv Sena legislative party, under Eknath Shinde, broke away to form a new coalition with the BJP. Currently, Maharashtra is being ruled by the BJP.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral video is old.