A video has been widely circulating on social media showing a young man attempting to strangle a woman in the middle of a road while covering his face with a cloth. In the video, several bystanders can be seen intervening to rescue the woman from the attacker. The video is being shared along with claims that the incident took place in the Amroha district of Uttar Pradesh. It is further alleged that a Muslim man attempted to kill a Hindu woman after she rejected his advances.
An X handle under the name Yati Narasinghanand Saraswati, which joined the platform in September 2024, shared the viral video on social media platforms, asserting that the incident occurred in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh. The post claimed that a 'Jihadi' had attempted to harm a Hindu girl but was ultimately thwarted by Hindu men who came to her rescue. (Archived link)
Another user made the same claim while sharing the video, but later deleted the tweet. (Archived link)
A user named Namrata Singh also made a similar claim while sharing the video. (Archived link)
Fact Check
Alt News performed a keyword search using terms related to the incident. This led us to a report published on Amar Ujala's website on January 6, 2025. According to the report, the incident occurred in Gajraula, a locality in Amroha district, Uttar Pradesh. The report stated that a young man attempted to strangle a medical college student using a muffler in broad daylight. Following the assault, the accused fled the scene and later sought refuge at his sister's residence in Moradabad. However, police tracked him down, arrested him, and presented him in court, after which he was sent to jail. The accused was identified as Rahul, a resident of a nearby village in the same district.
We also reviewed the X handle of the Amroha Police, which provided further clarification. In a reply to the viral footage, the police issued a statement confirming that the accused had been apprehended and was currently in custody. They emphasised that both the accused and the victim belonged to the same caste and knew each other prior to the incident. The police also denied the communal narrative being spread on social media and urged people not to share misinformation about the incident. In other words, they confirmed that the accused was not a Muslim.
To sum up, many social media users falsely gave a communal angle to an incident in which a youth attacked a medical college student, claiming that the accused was a Muslim.