Fact Check: 2016 photo of stone-pelting in Kashmir FALSELY claimed to be from Jahangirpuri

A viral image on social media shows how Muslims pelted stones at cops during the recent communal clashes in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri. The India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found the image to be misleading as it was neither recent nor from New Delhi.

In the backdrop of the recent communal clashes in New Delhi's Jahangirpuri, a photo of a mob pelting stones at the police has gone viral on social media. Social media users shared the image with hashtags like #HindusUnderAttackInIndia, #HinduLivesMatters, and #DelhiRiots2022.

A Twitter user shared this image with the caption, "Block C of #Jahangirpuri is infested with illegally living #Bangladeshis & #Rohingyas. Delhi Police needs to weed out these intruders. They have created trouble in the past too. It’s time to free this area."

The India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found that this image was neither recent nor from New Delhi. The 2016 photo showed supporters of Kashmiri separatist militant Burhan Wani.

A reverse search of the image led us to a 2016 report published on Rediff.com.

As per the report, this image showed protesters throwing stones amid tear gas smoke fired by the Indian police during a protest in Srinagar against the killing of Burhan Wani, a militant Kashmiri separatist leader.

This report carried many similar images, and one of those images was attributed to the photojournalist Umar Ganie.We found an Instagram post from Ganie dated July 10, 2016, in which he had shared a similar image with the caption, “A dog runs for cover as Kashmiri Protester throw stones on Indian police after they defy curfew and take out a protest rally against the killing of most wanted Hizbul Mujahideen Militant commander Burhan Wani and killing of 18 protesters, in Srinagar Kashmir India on 10 July 2016.”