Months-old video shows protesters detained in November 2024, not 'Pahalgam attack sympathisers'

Published on May 6, 2025 at 07:50
3 min read
By Sachin BAGHEL, AFP India

After authorities in Indian-run Kashmir launched a vast manhunt and carried out sweeping detentions in the search for gunmen who killed 26 people in the tourist hotspot Pahalgam, a video was shared in social media posts falsely claiming it showed local leaders being arrested for "supporting terrorists". The clip, which circulated five months before the attack in Pahalgam, in fact shows labour union leaders detained for protesting against a cable car project in Jammu.

"Local leaders of Kashmir are being arrested and taken away for supporting terrorists," reads the Hindi-language caption of an X video shared on April 24, 2025.

The clip shows police bundling two men into a vehicle.

It surfaced after Indian police launched a huge manhunt for a gang of gunmen who killed 26 men in Pahalgam on April 22, the worst attack on civilians in contested Muslim-majority Kashmir for a quarter of a century (archived link).

New Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan, accusing its arch-rival of supporting "cross-border terrorism". Islamabad has denied any role, calling attempts to link Pakistan to the attack "frivolous" and vowing to respond to Indian action.

Screenshot of the false post taken on April 30, 2025

The same video was also shared with similar claims on Facebook and X.

While Indian security forces have blown up nine homes of suspected rebels and detained nearly 2,000 people for questioning, the video was filmed months before the Pahalgam attack (archived link).

A keyword search on YouTube for "Jammu Links News", which appears in the top-right corner of the video, led to the same footage published on November 27, 2024 (archived link).

The YouTube video's description reads: "Two labour union leaders were arrested in Jammu's Katra following the violent clashes between traders and police after the former protested the proposed ropeway line from Katra town to the Hindu shrine of Vaishno Devi in the area."

Screenshot of the video used in the false post (left) and the same footage on YouTube

Local media reported that the pair, Bhupinder Singh and Sohan Chand, were arrested in Katra, Jammu, following clashes between traders and police (archived here and here).

According to the reports, shopkeepers feared the project -- which would ferry pilgrims from Katra town to the Vaishno Devi shrine in cable cars -- would adversely affect their businesses by reducing footfall. The protests reportedly turned violent as police were pelted with stones.

Singh told AFP he had been arrested for protesting without prior permission.

"A total of nine people were arrested, including the person seen with me in the video -- Sohan Chand. All of us were later released," he said on April 30.

AFP has debunked other misinformation related to the Pahalgam attack here, here and here.

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