Was a Pakistan flag hoisted in a house in Bihar? Many media outlets claim so.
Many media outlets misreport that a Pakistan flag was hoisted on a house in Bihar and did not retract the old news.
Claim
Claim
#RepublicDay2023: Pakistani flag found hoisted in #Bihar’s Purnea, probe underway
Rating
Explanation
Many news outlets reported that a Pakistan flag was hoisted in a house in Purnea, a city in Bihar. It has been reported that the Police had reached the spot after receiving the information and the flag was removed by the Police and had started the investigation.
Bihar | A Pakistani flag was hoisted in the Madhubani Sipahi Tola area in Purnea
We reached the suspect's house after getting the information. The flag has been removed. The matter has been discussed with SDO Purnea. Action will be taken: Pawan Chowdhary, SHO Madhubani pic.twitter.com/xKLeN748Wl
— ANI (@ANI) January 26, 2023
Apart from Zee News English and ANI, this was reported by many news outlets such as Times of India, Tmes Now Navbharat, News 18 Bihar, The News Indian etc. Apart from news outlets, the RSS-mouthpiece Organiser Weekly, right-wing website Opindia, and many other BJP leaders such as Andhra BJP General Secretary Vishnu Vardhan Reddy & Andhra Pradesh State Secretary Ramesh Naidu Nagothu, Gujarat State Media Co-Head Zubin Ashara among others have made the same claim.
गणतंत्र दिवस पर अशफाक के घर पर लहराया पाकिस्तानी झंडा, बिहार पुलिस ने उतरवाया तो बीवी बोली – हमें नहीं पता कहाँ का है: अब तक कोई गिरफ़्तारी नहीं#RepublicDay2023 #Purnia #Bihar #Pakistanhttps://t.co/UEDqzQem2H
— ऑपइंडिया (@OpIndia_in) January 26, 2023
What’s the truth?
In the video posted by The New Indian, a police officer can be seen taking down the flag from the house.
In a shocking incident, the national flag of Pakistan was hoisted on the rooftop of a house in Bihar’s Purnia on Republic Day by unknown persons. A team of police reached the spot and removed the Pakistani flag. The matter is under investigation. pic.twitter.com/HhphOosMtL
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) January 26, 2023
From the News 18 Bihar video and video from other news outlets, the flag can be seen to have stripes and a blue marking along with a star and a crescent moon in green background.
This is is stark contrast to a Pakistan flag as there are no stripes or prints in the Pakistan flag.
The Purnea Police had also tweeted that it was only a religious flag and not the flag of ‘another country’.
आज दिनांक-26.01.2023 संध्या 17:30 बजे सूचना मिली कि मधुबनी टीओपी क्षेत्र में सिपाही टोला में एक व्यक्ति अपने छत के ऊपर किसी अन्य देश का झंडा लगाए हुए हैं। तत्पश्चात सूचना की जांच कराई गई। जांच में पाया गया कि उक्त झंडा एक धार्मिक झंडा है जो करीब एक महीने से वहाँ पर लगाया हुआ है।
— Purnea Police (@PurneaSp) January 26, 2023
Some news outlets such as the Times of India had then reported that the Pakistan flag was not hoisted in Purnia by quoting the local area SP Aamir Jawaid.
Conclusion
A religious flag that is significant in Islam is misattributed to be of a Pakistan flag and many news outlets reported that a Pakistan flag was raised in Purnia, Bihar and the right-wing ecosystem had amplified it.
