Fact Check: Congress worker DID NOT celebrate Priyanka Gandhi's victory in Wayanad by shooting a cow

The viral video is at least six months old and most likely from Manipur. 

India Today Fact Check

Claim
This video shows Mohammed Mujahid Islam, the media head of the Kerala Congress, celebrating Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s victory in Wayanad by shooting a cow.

Fact
This video is at least six months old and most likely from Manipur. It has nothing to do with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's victory in Kerala. 

Beginning her journey as a Parliamentarian, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was sworn in as a Lok Sabha member from Kerala’s Wayanad constituency on November 28. Her massive electoral victory with a margin of over four lakh votes was celebrated by Congress workers and supporters after the by-poll results came out a few days back.

But, according to some on social media, one Congress worker went too far and allegedly shot a cow while celebrating Vadra’s victory. They shared a video of this horrific act and identified the man as Mohammed Mujahid Islam, the media in-charge of Kerala Congress.

Sharing the video on Facebook, one person wrote, “This beast's name is Mohammed Mujahid Islam and he is the media in-charge of Kerala Congress. The height of hatred for Hindus is that he sacrificed a cow by shooting it for Priyanka Gandhi's victory. Share this video so much that it reaches the Home Ministry of India and he gets arrested. The character of the mothers of secular Hindu people must be bad, they must have been born only after being disgraced by some M, and they support.” Its archive can be seen here.

India Today Fact Check found that this video is at least six months old and likely from Manipur. It has nothing to do with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s victory in Kerala.

OUR PROBE

Reverse searching keyframes from the viral video led us to multiple news reports about this incident from May 2024. According to them, the viral video showed a man shooting a cow in the head twice as an onlooker recorded the incident on a mobile camera in Manipur.

The Wayanad by-polls were held on November 13, while the counting was done on November 23. This means the viral video predates Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s victory by more than six months.

At the time, many on social media shared this video, claiming that the man was a Christian Kuki militant who shot the cow to mock Hindus. On May 7, the Indian branch of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals responded to one such post, stating PETA India’s cruelty response team was working with Manipur Police’s cybercrimes cell to get an FIR registered and take necessary actions against the man in the video.

India Today Fact Check reached out to Deepthi Mary Varghese, General Secretary of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, who confirmed she is the media chief in the Kerala Congress, adding there was no one named Mohammed Mujahid Islam in her team.

It is thus, clear that the clip does not show a Congress worker killing a cow to celebrate Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s victory in Wayanad.