Fact Check: Were Muslims who came from Dubai to vote paid? Achi-News

A claim
The Sunni Muslim Association in Dubai has given financial assistance to Muslims coming to vote in Karnataka.

(This was verified by News Checker as part of Shakti Collective)

A fact
The letter purporting to be issued in the name of the Association of Sunni Muslim Organizations in Dubai is fake. There is no evidence that such an organization exists. The contact number given in the letter is not true either.

A letter from a Dubai-based Muslim organization has announced financial assistance to Muslims moving to Karnataka for the ‘restoration of Congress’ in the Lok Sabha elections, which is going viral on social media.

But in our investigation it was found that the viral letter was fake. The mobile phone numbers and addresses mentioned in the letter do not belong to that organisation.

The third phase of Lok Sabha elections concluded on May 7. Out of 93 Lok Sabha constituencies, polling was held for 14 from Karnataka, 25 from Gujarat, 11 from Maharashtra, 10 from Uttar Pradesh, 9 from Madhya Pradesh, 7 from Chhattisgarh, 5 from Bihar and some others. Around 62.1% voting was recorded during this period.

At the top of the letter, which has gone viral, is “Association of Sunni Muslims” in English, with Hindi and English translations underneath. Also, the address “#2-11th Street, Khalid Bin Waleed Road, Plot no. Umm Hurair One, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This letter is dated April 29, 2024.

The letter includes a translation of English and Urdu texts. “Sunni Muslim Association (Dubai) announces full financial assistance for booking tickets and pre-booked tickets for Muslims who voted in the Indian elections held on May 7 in Karnataka and other states. Its main objective is to defeat the fascist forces in these elections and bring the Indian National Congress, which is a true friend of Muslims, to power. In addition, three different mobile numbers have also been given to the people of Hubli, Uttara Kannada and Shimoga districts of Karnataka. An archive of viral posts
Here

can see

Fact Check/Verification
To investigate the viral statement, Newschecker first searched for the Muslim organization mentioned in the letter. Currently, we have not found any information related to Sunni Muslim Organization of Dubai on the internet.

After this, we traced the location of this organization with the help of the address in the viral letter and found that the address was the headquarters of the Pakistan Embassy in Dubai, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

The mobile phone numbers in the viral letter are also fake
During our investigation we also contacted the numbers in the viral letter. This time, we were told that the number at the top of the letter belonged to a person named Mohammad Fayaz via WhatsApp. This time it was found that the number was registered under the name of a company called Dallmere, which sells coffee machines. We also tracked down the company’s Instagram account and identified the number in the viral letter as well.

We then contacted that company. “We do not belong to the organization mentioned in the letter. We have nothing to do with this case. ” He explained that.

In our investigation we tried to contact the other two numbers in the viral letter. This article will be updated again when they respond.

Conclusion
Evidence gathered during the investigation revealed that the viral letter was fake, as the information about the organization mentioned in the letter was not available on the internet.

Our Sources
Address mentioned on Google

Telephone conversation with a mentioned number

(This was verified by News Checker as part of Shakti Collective)

(This article was first published in Hindi by Newschecker, here it is)

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