‘RSS-linked’ former decorated Indian Army Major shares video of Pak mob lynching claiming the victim was Christian. Fact Check finds deceased was Muslim.

Recently, a case of mob lynching on charges of blasphemy has come to light in the Nankana Sahib district of Pakistan’s Punjab. Where a young man was beaten to death by an angry mob on charges of insulting the Holy Quran. 

A video related to this incident is getting viral on social media. It is also being claimed that the deceased was a believer in Christianity. 

By sharing this video Major Surendra Poonia captioned: “ Will @BBC show this? Never! Waris Issa, A Christian arrested on blasphemy charges in Nankana Sahib of Pakistan. Islamic mob attacked the Police station, dragged him out on the streets, and set him on the FIRE with the slogan of Allah-o-Akbar. Pak is Hell for Minorities @UNHumanRights.” 

This tweet made on February 13 now stands removed by Twitter citing violations of rules.

Major (Retd) is a multi-talented and awarded soldier-athlete. He is also a physician and has been a bodyguard of the President of India. His Twitter profile interestingly claims him to be a soldier, athlete, physician, and being part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) if the RSS in his bio really stands for the Sangh.

Meanwhile, another verified user Shiraz Hassan shared the video on this Twitter account and captioned it:” Total madness! An angry mob attacked the police station in Nankana Sahib. Reportedly an accused of blasphemy was killed and their body burnt by the mob. Apparently, the police were unable to control the situation.

Source: Twitter

Apart from this, many other users have also made similar claims regarding the video. Which can be seen here, here, and here.

Fact Check:

Source: BBC Urdu

To know the reality of the viral video, the DFRAC team searched keywords related to this incident in Urdu. During this time the team received a report from BBC Urdu. The deceased has been identified as Waris Ali and his mother’s name as Nooran Bibi. It was also told that Waris Ali was earlier accused of blasphemy in November 2019. He was acquitted of the charge after nearly three years of trial. According to the report, after being acquitted of the charges, the police kept an eye on the heir. Police found the waris praying and reciting the Quran.

Source: theguardian

On further investigation, the team found another report from The Guardian related to the incident. The report mentioned that the deceased Muhammad Waris was a Muslim. “A mob stormed a police station in East Pakistan on Saturday, snatched a Muslim man accused of blasphemy from custody, and beat him to death…,” the report said. ‘

Conclusion:

It is clear from the fact check of DFRAC that the claim of people like Major (Retd) Surendra Poonia and others is misleading. The murdered man was a Muslim who was lynched over alleged blasphemy.