A 24-second video from a Luton-to-Glasgow flight showing a man yelling “Allahu Akbar”, “Death to America”, and “Death to Trump” before being subdued by co-passengers had gone viral on social media a few days ago. It was alleged that the man was a Pakistani Muslim attempting to bomb the plane. These posts received lakhs of views and were widely amplified.
However, these claims were promptly dismissed by self-styled fact-checkers like Alt News’s Mohammed Zubair, who stated that the man was not a Muslim or a Pakistani, but a Hindu of Indian origin named Abhay Devdas Nayak, a resident of Luton. According to their investigation, Nayak was arrested upon landing and was not charged with terrorism. Some reports also cited eyewitnesses claiming Nayak had shouted slogans to “send a message” to former U.S. President Donald Trump, who was visiting Scotland at the time.
The man who shouted 'Allah hu Akbar' & 'Death to Trump' on a UK flight recently is not a Muslim, but a Hindu named Abhay Devdas Nayak. According to initial probe reports, he wanted to 'send a message' to the US President who was in Scotland | @prantik_alihttps://t.co/DHbiwbuKAJ
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) July 31, 2025
But in his rush to debunk communal propaganda, fact-check Zubair omitted a critical piece of information: Abhay Devdas Nayak is no ordinary passenger. He is a long-time Maoist propagandist with a history of involvement in anti-state activities. Chhattisgarh Police had arrested him in 2018 for his role as a key player in the CPI (Maoist)’s propaganda wing.
Fake News by Zubair and Altnew. The person, Abhay Devdas Nayak, is a Naxalite and was arrested by the Bastar police in 2018.
Abhay Nayak is as much a Hindu as his communist brother Pratik Sinha is! https://t.co/KispCEg9tt pic.twitter.com/a3OJErz751
— Vijay Patel (@vijaygajera) July 31, 2025
According to police statements from that time, Nayak was part of the Maoist overground network and involved in distributing press releases and online propaganda for the banned group. He had travelled to more than 15 countries, including several with active rebel movements, and was reportedly part of the Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organisations in South Asia (CCOMPOSA). His online pseudonym “Abhay” had been linked to Maoist literature and pamphlets found at blast sites in Bastar, including one IED incident in 2013.
Special DG (Anti-Naxal Operations) D M Awasthi stated during the 2018 investigation that Nayak was being tracked for years and had received international funding to spread Maoist ideology. While Nayak claimed to be a freelance journalist operating websites on finance and news, police recovered laptops and hard drives containing communication with known Maoist leaders like Gudsa Usendi and academic-activists arrested under the UAPA such as G N Saibaba and Rona Wilson.
Despite this well-documented Maoist history, Zubair seems to have deliberately failed to mention any of this background while asserting his innocence in the Glasgow flight incident. His portrayal of Nayak as a Hindu wantonly shouting Islamic phrases to point out that Hindus can also have “terror” intent, just to disprove Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement that No Hindu will ever be a terrorist.
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.