Fact Check: NOT Iranian pouring milk on Kaaba and calling it Shivling - this video shows suicide attempt
This video that is being shared widely on social media allegedly shows a young man from Iran pouring milk on the Kaaba in Mecca, claiming it to be a "Shivling". Those sharing the video also claimed that the man said his ancestors were Hindus.
Listen to Story
India Today Fact Check
This video shows a Saudi man trying to self-immolate. He didn’t pour milk on Kaaba. Nor did he claim it was a Shivling.
A video sees a young man pouring white liquid from a bottle on Kaaba, the building at the centre of the Grand Mosque in Mecca. A group of men can then be seen holding the man down and attempting to take him away.
This video that is being shared widely on social media allegedly shows a young man from Iran pouring milk on the Kaaba in Mecca, claiming it to be a “Shivling”. Those sharing the video also claimed that the man said his ancestors were Hindus.
AFWA found that the man in the video was trying to self-immolate.
AFWA probe
We found a different video showing the same incident uploaded to the YouTube channel of Siasat Daily in February 2017. According to the description provided, the video showed a man who tried to die by suicide in front of the Kaaba.
We then searched online and found several media reports from 2017 about the incident. According to a Gulf News report, the man was trying to self-immolate and the liquid in the bottle was gasoline.
Quoting an eyewitness, the report said that the man was seen pouring gasoline at the Kaaba before trying to kill himself. Reports also said the man was a Saudi national in his 40s.
Quoting the media spokesman for the special forces, Major Raed Sameh Al-Sulami, Arab News reported that the man appeared mentally ill.
“He was held before he went on with his dramatic self-immolation act and his behavior indicates that he is mentally ill. All the necessary measures will be taken,” Al-Sulami said.
Several Indian media outlets had also reported this incident in 2017.
It is hence clear that the man in the video neither poured milk on Kaaba, nor claimed it to be a Shivling.
Also Read: | Fact Check: Clipped-out Modi speech given false spin — PM was not instigating violence against upper castes
Please share it on our at 73 7000 7000
You can also send us an email at factcheck@intoday.com