Two videos which show currency notes scattered on the road are viral on social media with the claim that “coronavirus-infected notes were scattered by the Muslim community” in

Video 1

Facebook page Kodagu Hindus posted the viral video has been shared with the following text in Kanada text, “ಕರೊನಾ ಬಂದಿರುವ ಕೆಲವು ಮುಸ್ಲಿಂ ಸಮುದಾಯದ ಜನರು 500, 2000 ನೋಟುಗಳಿಗೆ ಉಗುಳು ಹಚ್ಚಿ ಬಿಸಾಕಿ, ಹೋಗುವ ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಪದ್ಧತಿ ಆರಂಭಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಜನ ಎಷ್ಟು ಭಯಗೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆಂದರೆ ಪೋಲಿಸರು ಸಹ ಆ ನೋಟುಗಳನ್ನು ಮುಟ್ಟುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ ಆದರಿಂದ ದಾರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋಗುವಾಗ 500 & 2000 ರೂಪಾಯಿ ನೋಟುಗಳು ಬಿದ್ದದ್ದು ಕಂಡರೆ ಅವುಗಳನ್ನು ಮುಟ್ಟಬೇಡಿ ಕೆಲ ಜನರು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವ ಇಂಥ ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಕೆಲಸಗಳಿಂದ ಇಡೀ ಮುಸ್ಲಿಂ ಸಮುದಾಯಕ್ಕೆ ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಹೆಸರು ಅಂಟುತ್ತಿದೆ………. !)”

This post has been shared over 1,000 times and the video has over 21,000 views. (archive link)

ಕರೊನಾ ಬಂದಿರುವ ಕೆಲವು ಮುಸ್ಲಿಂ ಸಮುದಾಯದ ಜನರು 500, 2000 ನೋಟುಗಳಿಗೆ ಉಗುಳು ಹಚ್ಚಿ ಬಿಸಾಕಿ, ಹೋಗುವ ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಪದ್ಧತಿ ಆರಂಭಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ 🙏

ಜನ ಎಷ್ಟು ಭಯಗೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆಂದರೆ ಪೋಲಿಸರು ಸಹ ಆ ನೋಟುಗಳನ್ನು ಮುಟ್ಟುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ 🙏 ಆದರಿಂದ ದಾರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋಗುವಾಗ 500 & 2000 ರೂಪಾಯಿ ನೋಟುಗಳು ಬಿದ್ದದ್ದು ಕಂಡರೆ ಅವುಗಳನ್ನು ಮುಟ್ಟಬೇಡಿ 🙏 ಕೆಲ ಜನರು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವ ಇಂಥ ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಕೆಲಸಗಳಿಂದ ಇಡೀ ಮುಸ್ಲಿಂ ಸಮುದಾಯಕ್ಕೆ ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಹೆಸರು ಅಂಟುತ್ತಿದೆ………. ! Posted by Kodagu Hindus on Thursday, April 9, 2020

Video 2

The second viral video has been shared with a Hindi text, “In Budh Vihar, ₹2,000 notes can be found lying on the ground (translated from बुध विहार में जगह जगह पर 2000/-के नोट पडे हुए मिले हैं।).” Facebook user Surendra Batra, who is associated with the Indian National Congress (as per the Facebook bio), posted the viral video along with the Hindi text. Batra’s post has been shared over 950 times and viewed more than 8,500 times ( archive link ).

बुध विहार में जगह जगह पर 2000/-के नोट पडे हुए मिले हैं। Posted by Surender Batra on Thursday, April 9, 2020 Twitter handle Akash RSS also shared the video.

Fact-check

Alt News analysed both the videos and confirmed that they capture the same incident. The screenshots below show two bikes (black and yellow coloured) which can be spotted in both the viral videos.

1. Screenshots from Video 1 and Video 2 comparing the yellow bike.

2. Screenshots from Video 1 and Video 2 comparing the black bike.

Alt News subsequently performed a keyword search on Google and found that multiple media outlets have reported the incident, including an April 10 broadcast by Aaj Tak. The relevant section in the broadcast begins from the 17:40 mark. The Aaj Tak report pointed out that due to fear of coronavirus people were associating mundane incidents with the pandemic.

According to the report, the cash lying on the ground belonged to a person who withdrew it from an ATM in Budh Vihar, New Delhi. The person accidentally dropped some notes on his way. When people noticed the cash lying on the street, a rumour emerged that the notes were deliberately dropped to spread coronavirus. Locals called the police who placed bricks on the notes and started probing the matter. However, the person who dropped the cash came back looking for it and clarified that it was his money.

Alt News spoke with Budh Vihar’s SHO Krishna who sent a video statement of Rohini’ ACP SD Mishra – “When the beat constable reached there, he noticed that there were about seven Rs 2000 notes. As he was about to seal the notes, a person named Bhutender Sharma came there and told that these notes belonged to him and had accidentally fallen from his pocket. We investigated the matter and returned the notes to him.”

Video viral

Several users on Facebook and Twitter have shared the viral video with the Hindi text, Similarly, a Facebook user Hemant Singh Bohra posted the video with the caption “Budh Vihar”. (archive link)

On April 9, ABP journalist Vikas Bhadauria tweeted the second viral video and claimed that police investigation found the notes to be fake (archive link). However, as per the police’s statement this is false.

Alt News has received several requests to fact-check the second video on WhatsApp (+91 76000 11160) and on our official Android application.

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Related

The claim that members of the Muslim community scattered notes to spread coronavirus is false. A man in Delhi’s Budh Vihar dropped the notes after returning from the ATM. Since a Tablighi Jamaat meet in Nizamuddin emerged as a coronavirus hotspot, social media has been brimming with misinformation targetting the Muslim community.