A video has surfaced on social media platforms, featuring Kalicharan Maharaj, who recently made objectionable remarks on Mahatma Gandhi. Through the video, which shows Kalicharan Maharaj walking with some policemen, it is being claimed that he has been granted bail.
On December 26, 2021, Kalicharan was arrested for making derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi and praising his assassin Nathuram Godse at a Dharam Sansad in Raipur.
A Facebook user shared the video on December 21, 2021, with a caption in Hindi that roughly translates to, “Kalicharan Maharaj granted bail.”
(Original: #कालीचरण महाराज की बेल मंजूर…)
The video is viral on Twitter with the same claim.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the viral video and found it to be misleading.
On performing relevant keyword searches, we found a News18 report published on December 31, 2021, carrying a screengrab from the viral video. According to the report, a court in Raipur on December 31, 2021, rejected the bail petition filed by lawyers of Hindu seer Kalicharan Maharaj, who will be in judicial custody till January 13, 2022.
Below is the comparison between the News18 cover image and the screengrab from the viral video.
On checking further, we found similar visuals in reports by Zee News and IBC24.
Incidentally, a Pune court on January 7, 2022, granted bail to Kalicharan Maharaj in connection with a hate speech case, but it is clear that the viral video does not show him walking out with police after being granted bail in December.
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