Fact Check: No Communal Angle In Murder Of YSR Congress Youth Leader In Andhra Pradesh

New Delhi (Vishvas News). A video clip of a deadly attack on a person with a sharp weapon is being shared on different social media platforms, claiming that the accused in this gruesome incident belongs to the Muslim community and the victim belongs to the Hindu community.

Vishvas News investigated the post and found it to be misleading. The viral video is of an incident that took place in Andhra Pradesh, where a worker of the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) publicly murdered a youth leader of YSRCP (Yuvjana Sramika Raithu Congress Party) and both the accused and the victim, in this case, belong to the Muslim community. The deceased person is Sheikh Rashid, while the accused is Sheikh Jilani.

What Is Going Viral?

Many users shared this video on Vishvas News’ tipline number +91 9599299372.

Many users (archive link) have shared this video (the visuals are disturbing) with similar claims on various social media platforms.

Investigation

Using the in-vid tool, we extracted key frames from the viral video and did a reverse image search to find the original video. During the search, we found this video clip on the verified YouTube channel of NDTV, uploaded on July 18, 2024.

According to the information provided with the report, “A member of the youth wing of the YSRCP of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy was murdered with a sharp weapon in Palnadu district on Wednesday night. The name of the victim was Sheikh Rashid, who was a member of the youth wing of the YSR Congress Party and the name of the accused was Sheikh Jilani, who attacked him with a daab (sharp weapon).”

Other news reports also corroborate this incident and the identities of the accused and the victim. According to a July 19, 2024 report in the Times of India, “YSRCP youth member SK Rashid was attacked by SK Jilani in Vinukonda in Palnadu district, after a dispute led to Jilani leaving the YSRCP to join the TDP. While YS Jagan Mohan Reddy condemned the murder, the TDP said both of them had criminal backgrounds.”

The Indian Express report dated July 19, 2024, mentions this incident in the same context,  citing a real estate deal as the cause of conflict.

Our investigations reveal that the viral incident is related to a murder in Palnadu district of Andhra Pradesh, where both the accused and the victim belong to the Muslim community.

We contacted Palnadu district’s Superintendent of Police K Srinivas Rao regarding the viral video clip and he confirmed that there was no communal angle in the incident. Also, rejecting the claim of political rivalry between the two, he said, “The reason for the murder was personal enmity between the two, which does not involve any political motive.”