Fact check: Muslim youth's death in K'taka not related to The Kashmir Files [truth here]

A viral post on Twitter had been circulating with a claim that an 18-year-old Amanullah Irfan was killed by a "Hindutva terrorist" with a sword while he was returning after watching The Kashmir Files. The Karnataka State Police Factcheck team dismissed the connection and found the claim misleading.

Ever since the release of the movie The Kashmir Files, which showed the plight of Kashmiri Pandits in the valley at the hands of Islamist terrorists, there has been communal tension in different parts of India. Amidst this, a report about a Muslim boy's death in Karnataka has been linked to communal hatred as a result of the movie.

A viral social media post, followed by some news reports have already given a sense of authenticity to the report, but that's far from the truth.

The claim

A viral post on Twitter had been circulating with a claim that an 18-year-old Amanullah Irfan was killed by a "Hindutva terrorist" with a sword. The post claimed that the man was returning from the theatre after watching The Kashmir Files. The incident, as per the post, happened in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka.

Fact check: Viral news of Muslim youth's death not related to Kashmir Files [truth here] — - Social media

This enraged many social media users. Accompanying the viral post is a photo of the victim inside an ambulance with a severe sword wound on the neck.

To back this claim, there were news reports, which convinced people of the shocking incident. Reports in Makhtoob Media, Siesta and The KashmirWalla gave a detailed count of the event, which it claimed to have happened on Wednesday. It even identified the accused as a 30-year-old Honnappa in Terrain village in Haliyal.

"Based on Amanulla's complaint, Haliyal Police registered an FIR under IPC 307 and arrested the Hindu vigilante Honnappa. Both Amanullah and Honnappa are the residents of Tergaon village," the report said.

Fact-check

International Business Times Fact Check desk was alerted of the viral post and the news reports. Upon investigation, it was found that the incident was being falsely linked to movie The Kashmir Files.

Karnataka State Police Factcheck team was quick enough to dismiss the claim made in the viral post. It clearly stated: This is FAKE NEWS. The incident is neither related to Kashmiri Files nor to any communal hatred. Detailed post will follow. Pl don't circulate fake news."

Some anti-national factions are using the The Kashmir Files to spread communal hatred and disrupt law and order. By spreading provocative fake claims, these elements hope to trigger violence. National media did not pick up this news element due to its fake claim. Based on the evidence reviewed by us and the Karnataka State Police's statement, IBTimes has arrived at the conclusion that the claim made in the viral post is misleading.

Claim reviewed :

18-year-old Amanullah Irfan was killed by “Hindutva terrorist” with a sword as the accused was returning from theater after watching The Kashmir Files in Uttara Kannad district of Karnataka.