Did a Congress MLA in Karnataka threaten a police officer?
A video from Telangana involving an MLA from AIMIM party is shared with false claims attributed to be of a Muslim Congress MLA from Karnataka.
Claim
The game has already begun in #KarnatakaCM #Karnataka Congress MLA”Zafar Hussain Meraj” Jachtiyal called a police Officer Calling home… Where we have to do as we say”
Rating
Explanation
Did a Muslim Congress MLA threaten a police officer in Karnataka to do what he says, even before the Government is formed in the state? Here’s a little background. Congress has won in Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections in 2023 with 135 seats defeating the incumbent BJP which was reduced to 66 seats. The JD(S) managed to win just 19 seats. The Congress gained 55 seats compared to the previous election, whereas the BJP and the JD (S) lost 38 and 18 seats respectively.
After a suspense about who will the Chief Minister candidate due to an intense battle between Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar and the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, it has been reported that Siddaramaiah would become the Chief Minister and DK Shivakumar will be the Deputy Chief Minister.
Now, a video is being circulated in social media claiming that a Muslim MLA from Karnataka is telling a police officer to do as he says. Many users in social media have been sharing this video with similar which can be seen here, here, here and here.
Welcome to Karnataka
We will have to do as we say," Congress MLA in Karnataka calmly explaining to a police officer by inviting him to his home. pic.twitter.com/XDXA65Gwt6
— Izlamic Terrorist (@raviagrawal3) May 16, 2023
What’s the truth?
The video mentions in a namecard that reads “Jaffar Hussain Meraj, MLA of Nampally in Jagtial”. Nampally is an area and an assembly constituency in Hyderabad and Jagtial is a district, both of which are located in Telangana, not Karnataka as claimed in social media posts. Jaffar Hussain Meraj is an MLA from AIMIM party.
With a keyword search, we found an article from The Deccan Chronicle which had a photo taken at the same time when the video was taken.
According to the article, a police officer attacked a woman and her mother over a dispute regarding a seat in a local bus and the officer was subsequently suspended.
Case is registered regarding yesterday’s quarrel in RTC bus .
Disciplinary action has been taken against SI of Jagtial Rural police station . He is transferred and attached to AR HQs .— SP JAGTIAL (@SpJagtial) May 10, 2023
The video of the incident became a big viral and the police officer was transferred as per the tweet from Superintendent of Police of Jagtial on 10th May 2023. But on 11th May, the AIMIM MLA Jaffar Hussain Meraj met with the SP and demanded stricter action.
On the guidance of #AIMIM President @asadowaisi sahab & Floor Leader @imAkbarOwaisi sahab.
Met the Superintendent of Police of Jagtial and showed dissatisfaction on the charges that had been imposed on the Sub Inspector Anil Kumar and demanded strict action. pic.twitter.com/gZtgby6GB5
— Jaffar Hussain Meraj (@Jaffarhusainmla) May 11, 2023
AIMIM leaders including Jaffar Hussain Meraj, the Nampally MLA met the women & their family who got attacked in the bus and also met the Superintendent of Police regarding the issue. The police officer (ASI Anil Kumar Yadav) was suspended.
Several news reports and videos regarding the incident have come out which can be seen here, here and here.
Interestingly, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal called for a bandh in Jagtial in support of the ASI officer who got suspended for attacking the women in the bus and demanded that he be reinstated in service, according to reports. But the suspended police officer has reportedly distanced himself from the calls for bandh. See here, here, and here.
So, a video of this incident is shared in social media with false claims that in Karnataka, a Muslim MLA from Congress has been ordering the police officers and giving ultimatums. Since Congress’ victory in Karnataka, many such false claims are made which we have fact-checked.
Read More:
- Did a Muslim man threaten police officer in Karnataka?
- Saffron flag was not replaced with Pakistan flag in Karnataka’s Bhatkal after Congress’s victory.
Conclusion
A video from Telangana involving an MLA from the AIMIM party in an unrelated incident is used to make false claims that a Congress MLA in Karnataka is demanding a police officer to do as he says.
