How Ujjain Unrest Was Stoked by False AI Videos and Pictures of Mosque Demolition

AI-generated photos and films showing the demolition of the Shahi Mosque in Ujjain were shared on social media, causing disturbance on Monday, according to authorities. Before Simhastha 2028, a scheduled and peaceful dismantling of portions of the mosque for a road-widening project caused a crowd to conflict with police due to a number of offensive AI videos and photographs that had appeared. Some messages urged people to congregate at the mosque to halt the demolition, while others made comparisons to the demolition of the Babri mosque.

The tweets characterized the event as the administration’s complete demolition of the mosque, when it was actually a planned dismantling of a piece following an agreement made by the mosque committee.

Regarding the purported dissemination of false messages and videos on social media, police have also filed a formal complaint under Sections 196(1), 299, 353(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Some of the individuals who shared the offensive messages have also been recognized by the police. Police said that on September 27, Imran Khan sent a message on Instagram asking people to congregate around Chhatri Chowk. Another video that went viral on Instagram purportedly showed someone going by the name of Arif Pathan asking people to gather close to the mosque at two in the morning.

According to the administration, after talking with community members overnight, the mosque committee started dismantling the section on Monday. On Sunday, a sizable crowd had assembled close to the mosque and remained there all nite. It is said that an agreement was struck between four and five in the morning, but later in the morning, people congregated once more, and some of them started hurling stones at the police.

To break up the gathering, police had to employ tear gas shells and lathi charges. Complete quiet was seen at the Shahi Masjid site on Tuesday, according to Ujjain District Collector Roshan Kumar Singh. The operation to remove a part of the structure impacted by the road-widening project is scheduled to resume under a heavy security presence.

“Complete calm prevails at the site. The members of the Shahi Masjid Committee are themselves removing the portion of the structure affected by the road-widening project. Yesterday, some individuals attempted to create an unpleasant situation, and the strictest possible action is being taken against them,” Roshan Kumar Singh told ANI.