Old photo shared as Muslim men in Tripura stand with burnt religious textbooks – Alt News

A photograph of two men standing with charred books in their hands has been shared claiming the image was taken in Tripura. Viral claims insinuate that the charred books were religious textbooks of the Muslim community.

त्रिपुरा से जो भी तस्वीरें आरही हैं रुला देने वाली हैं—— ????????#TripuraAntiMuslimRiots pic.twitter.com/sLrDiD9UJj

— Anas khan. ????(انس خان )???? (@Anas_khan68) October 28, 2021

ये बेअदबी त्रिपुरा में हुई तभी में कहती हु इस्लाम बहोत सहष्णु है l#TripuraAntiMuslimRiots pic.twitter.com/6HU3LPBTdT

— Vasundhra Chauhan (@Dilsedesh) October 28, 2021

Fact-check

A reverse-image search on Google led us to a tweet from June 13, 2021. The user wrote that nearly 56 shanties were gutted in a fire that broke out in a Rohingya refugee camp in Delhi.

4) Almost 56 shanties were gutted and 300 residents get homeless in yesterday’s horrific incident. My heart pains seeing the condition of Rohingya Muslims. They are one of the world’s most persecuted community yet no one cares. Most probably because they are Muslims. pic.twitter.com/nXMQ0Id4H0

— Ramy (@Rammyyyyy_) June 13, 2021

Journalist Aasif Mujtaba had shared the picture after it began circulating as Tripura. “We got these images when @miles2smile_ started the relief work in June this year,” he wrote. Miles2Simle is a not-for-profit based out of Delhi that works with victims of violence. Mujtaba is the founder of the organisation.

These images are from the recent fire mishap at Rohingya Refugee camp at Kanchan Kunj, New Delhi and not from Tripura. We got these images when @miles2smile_ started the relief work in June this year.
Kindly do not share the misinformation #TripuraAntiMuslimRiots pic.twitter.com/T0voGcTLtU

— Aasif Mujtaba (@MujtabaAasif) October 28, 2021

Alt News reached out to Mujtaba who informed, “These photos are from a recent fire mishap that took place on the nights of June 12 this year at a Rohingya refugee camp at Kanchan Kunj. These were clicked by a friend @mdmeharban03. These two men are from the refugees families whose shanties got gutted in the fire”

“The massive fire, which broke out at 11:55 pm, turned all 56 shanties in the refugee camp into ashes within minutes. All the occupants lost everything they owned. Strong winds helped fuel the fire,” reported Newsclick adding that locals and the refugees alleged that the fire was not at all an accidental incident, but a manufactured one.

The image thus shows Rohingya men with charred books. It is unrelated to the communal violence in Tripura where Muslim properties and shops were vandalised and also set ablaze. At least seven people have died in the violence.

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