Fact Check: Old video of T Raja Singh viral as suspended BJP MLA eating prison food after recent arrest
India Today
Suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh was sent to Cherlapally Central Jail after he was booked under the Preventive Detention Act for allegedly trying to disrupt “peace and public tranquillity”.
Suspended Bharatiya Janata Party MLA T Raja Singh was sent to Cherlapally Central Jail after he was booked under the Preventive Detention Act for allegedly trying to disrupt “peace and public tranquillity”. This happened two days after the Telangana police arrested him for derogatory remarks against the Prophet Muhammad.
Soon after, a video of Singh eating food was widely shared online. The video saw him eating while sitting on what looked like a bench. There were a number of plastic bags and water bottles in front of him. At one point, he smiled and waved at the camera.
Those sharing the video on Facebook wrote captions like, “It is not easy to be a hardcore Hindu. You have to eat prison food. Despite this, he has the smile of a lion on his face.”
AFWA’s investigation, however, found that the video was not shot inside Cherlapally Central Jail. The viral posts have been archived here and here.
A combination of reverse image search and Telugu keywords led us to the same clip shared by many on Facebook claiming it to be from 2021. One person on Facebook wrote in Telugu, “The video of MLA T Raja Singh having breakfast in Nampally Court is now going viral on social media.”
Further searches in Telugu led us to Facebook posts from August 2021. That this video was shared a year ago proves that it has nothing to do with his recent arrest.
Per such posts, last year, Singh supposedly had to appear in court once every four days because the state government had slapped several charges against the “Hindu leaders” in the state. However, AFWA found no relevant news reports regarding this claim.
