A video of a young girl in a green hijab being questioned by people about her identity has gone viral.
In the video, she tells someone behind the camera that she is studying Class 8 and has been asked by her father to cast her vote. People sharing the video claim that the 12-year-old girl was caught trying to vote during the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly Elections.
An X user shared the video and wrote, “Even their 12-year-old children are casting votes. Our 12-year-old kids are busy making reels. #Maharashtra #JharkhandElections2024” (Translated from Hindi)
SouthCheck found that the claim was misleading. The incident in the viral video was from the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year.
On a Google reverse image search, we found the same video uploaded by a Facebook user on May 7, 2024. The video was shared with a caption that reads, “8th-grade girl was caught trying to cast her vote at a polling booth in Sambhal, UP. Were her parents unaware that the voting age is 18? Who encouraged her to vote despite ineligibility? Could this be a widespread occurrence, or is it part of a larger conspiracy of bogus voting?”
Using the information in the Facebook post as keywords, we found a report published by The Times of India on May 11, 2024, about the incident. According to the report, the incident occurred at booth number 398 in the Kundarki Assembly Constituency of Sambhal Lok Sabha seat in Moradabad district, Uttar Pradesh. A 12-year-old girl claiming to be in Class 8 said that her name was listed in the voter registry, which prompted her visit to the booth. A video of her went viral after she was caught by a BJP worker. A prompt investigation ordered by DM Manvendra Singh resulted in an FIR against the booth-level officer (BLO). The report mentioned that a video of the incident went viral.
Hence, we conclude that the viral claim is old and unrelated to the Maharashtra Assembly Elections in 2024.
