No, These Images Do Not Show The People Who Defaced Walls Of JNU With Anti-Brahmin Slogans

Following the defacement controversy at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, pictures are going viral across social media. The images show some people with injuries on their faces, circulated with the claim that they spraypainted anti-Brahmin slogans in JNU.

On December 1, 2022, several reports noted that walls in JNU were defaced with slogans against Brahmin and Baniya communities. The university administration has condemned the incident, with the Dean of the School of International Studies and Grievances Committee being asked to probe the incident and submit a report to the Vice-Chancellor at the earliest.

Claim:

The set of images shows three people looking away from the camera while showing the injuries they have sustained. The injuries appear to be causing bleeding on the persons' faces.

The tweet showing the three persons is captioned, "I swear, now these three will not write 'Brahmins leave India' even in their dreams. These three were the ones who wrote on the walls." The same set of images and claims is viral across social media.

This set of images is viral across Twitter and Facebook with a similar claim.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian fact-check team verified the viral claim and found it false. The viral image is related to a reported assault on CASR members allegedly by ABVP.

We conducted a reverse image search on the viral set of images and found a post on Facebook uploaded on December 1. The post uploaded by the Facebook page Chhatra Ekta Manch (Student Unity Platform) contains the same images as seen in the viral post.

The caption of this post reads, "Chhatra Ekta Manch (Haryana) condemns the attack on CASR workers by goons of Akhil Bharti Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and appeals to all student community to unite to give a befitting reply to these goons. The CASR (Campaign Against State Repression) has been going on for the last several days to appeal for the release of Professor GN Saibaba and other comrades."

"People from different organisations were campaigning for this program at Patel Chest near Delhi University when ABVP goons started gathering there. Their number was about 50, including 8-10 girls, and everyone had thick sticks in their hands. Till now, Rohit Sharma, Rohit Dedha, and Rajeev Rathore have been identified among ABVP goons. Three companions were injured in this attack."

We also came across a tweet by Safoora Zargar, an Indian student activist leader who shared images of the persons from the incident. The same persons can be seen in the photos with the same injuries.

The tweet is captioned, "CASR activists beaten up brutally by ABVP goons in Delhi university while campaigning for their program on December 5 at HKS Surjeet Bhawan to demand the release of G.N. Saibaba. While innocent student activists rot in jail, the criminal activities of ABVP are given a free pass."

Dr B. Karthik Navayan, a lawyer and human rights activist, tweeted a report by The Wire titled, 'Delhi: Student, Activists Campaigning for G.N. Saibaba's Release Allegedly Attacked by ABVP Members'.

The Wire report notes that members of the 'Campaign Against State Repression' have alleged that members of the ABVP attacked them. The student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sang allegedly assaulted the members of the joint front of nearly 36 organisations. The members of CASR were appealing for Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba's release from jail.

As per the report, the incident occurred on the evening of December 1, where five members of CASR were allegedly injured in the violence and claimed that they were attacked with stones, lathis and rods. Meanwhile, two members of the ABVP also reportedly suffered injuries.

Student activist Baadal of the Bhagat Singh Chatra Ekta Manch (BCEM) was reportedly assaulted on the head with a brick. At the same time, Ehtmam from Lawyers Against Atrocities suffered an ear injury, the report by The Wire noted.

G.N. Saibaba, a wheelchair-bound Indian author, is currently kept in the Nagpur central prison. Saibaba was held back in jail after the Supreme Court suspended the Bombay high court judgment discharging him and other accused in the case of a Maoist link, preventing their release from prison.

We also came across a report by Siasat Daily, which also reported that Delhi University students campaigning to release Dr GN Saibaba and four others were beaten up allegedly by members of the ABVP on December 1. Siasat quotes a student president of the Bhagat Singh Chatra Ekta Manch, saying, "Out of the blue, 40-50 ABVP students attacked us with lathis (batons). Many students were injured."

We found more posts on Facebook by pages Democratic Students' Union - D.U. Unit and Bhagat Singh Chhatra Morcha regarding the alleged assault by ABVP members on the CASR members. Both pages claimed that the ABVP had assaulted the gathered protestors with sticks.

The page Bhagat Singh Chhatra Morcha noted in a post, "A girl broke the head of fellow Badal by hitting a brick on his head. Comrade Ehtemam, from LAA (Lawyers Against Atrocities), was attacked with a stick on his ear, which cut off his ear."

As per recent media reports, the investigation is still ongoing, with the perpetrators not yet identified.

Conclusion:

We found that the viral image is not related to the defacement in JNU, where anti-Brahmin slogans were spray painted. The photos are related to a reported assault on CASR members by ABVP members, leading to the injuries seen in the viral photos. The CASR members were appealing for the release of G.N. Saibaba, the Indian author, an accused in the case of a Maoist link. Thus, we found that the viral claims with the set of images are false.

If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.

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