Fact Check: 2019 Video of BJP MLA T. Raja Singh’s Arrest Misleadingly Shared as Recent

In today’s digital age, social media has become a powerful tool for sharing information. However, it has also turned into a breeding ground for misinformation. A growing concern is the way old or unrelated videos are re-shared with misleading captions, often going viral within minutes. These clips, stripped of context, are repackaged to fit various political or social agendas, leading to confusion, panic, and in some cases, unrest.

Fake news spread through viral videos is not just a technical issue — it poses real-world consequences. Misleading content can damage reputations, provoke communal tension, or divert attention from genuine issues. Despite platforms introducing fact-check labels and moderation tools, the pace at which misinformation spreads remains alarming.

It is crucial for users to verify the source and date of videos before sharing them. As consumers of digital content, we must be responsible and cautious — because in the age of virality, even a few seconds of video can distort the truth.

Amid this, a video is being circulated on social media. In the 2-minute 40-second clip, a man in a white dress is seen surrounded by a crowd, including several police officers. Some of the police personnel are seen holding the man and taking him away.

The user claims the person in the white dress is BJP MLA T. Raja Singh. While sharing the video, the user included a caption with communal valence.

The screenshot of the claim mentioned below.

Fact Check:

The claim is misleading. The video actually dates back to 2019, when he was arrested over a dispute concerning a mosque in Amberpet, Hyderabad. While investigating the incident, we found no evidence of any such event occurring in Uttar Pradesh recently. Had such an incident taken place, it would likely have been reported by the media.

During the reverse image search, we found that Raja Singh shared a video on 5 May 2019. The video was posted with the caption, “Police arrested him under government pressure.”

As this video appears similar to the viral one, we compared both and found that they are from the same incident.

This proves that the viral video has been available on the internet since May 2019.

We also found that on 6th May 2019, Raja Singh shared a video with the text, “You all have seen the way Hyderabad police acted & arrested me for protesting against illegal construction of a mosque. If anything illegal is constructed, we know how to raze it to the ground again. We don't want any other Ayodhya to be made in Hyderabad. Let the peace prevail.”

In the video, he says that he has come out of police custody. Later, he released another video providing information about the Amberpet mosque dispute and claimed that if a new mosque is built in Amberpet, he will demolish it.

When we searched using the keywords, we found that the YouTube channel 'Gohash' had uploaded the same video on 6th May 2019. The title mentioned, “BJP MLA Raja Singh Arrested.”

When we searched this with the relevant keywords, we found a report published on 6 May 2019. The article was published with the title, "Take Him Away": Hyderabad Top Cop Orders BJP Lawmaker's Detention.

In the article, NDTV briefly mentioned: A BJP legislator in Telangana was among those taken into police custody in Hyderabad on Sunday after clashes over the setting up of a shed on land where a place of worship was demolished. T. Raja Singh, the lone BJP legislator in Telangana, turned up in the area to "enquire about the situation," the state BJP said. Dramatic moments followed when the Hyderabad police chief reached the spot and dispersed the crowd. In a video, Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar can be seen asking his team to take the BJP leader away. "Le jao isko, uthake le jao (take him away)," Mr. Kumar tells the policemen. Raja Singh, who was resisting the police action, was held on both sides by policemen who took him away. Raja Singh was taken into preventive custody.

The article also mentioned Mr. Singh was released soon after. He represents the Goshamahal constituency in Hyderabad. Telangana BJP leaders alleged that police behaved in a partial manner and baton-charged only members of Hindu organisations, who tried to stop attempts by another group to encroach on government land by defying the law.

Hence, the claim is misleading. The video in question actually dates back to 2019, when T. Raja Singh was arrested in connection with a dispute over a mosque in Amberpet, Hyderabad.