Fact Check: No Communal Angle In Assault On Pilgrims By Mule Operators In Kedarnath

As the Chardham Yatra got underway in Uttarakhand, a video has gone viral on social media. The video shows individuals beating women and young people with sticks. Some social media users are sharing the video with the claim that Muslim horse and mule handlers assaulted Chardham Yatris in Kedarnath. These users are spreading the video with an inflammatory and communal tone.

Vishvas News conducted an investigation and found that the conductors attacked some pilgrims in Kedarnath when they protested against hitting a horse. The police arrested the accused and it was found that both the victim and the accused belong to the same community. There is no communal aspect to this incident.

What Is Going Viral?

The viral post originated from a Facebook user named ‘Sanjay Tiwari‘ (archived link), who posted the video on June 13 with the following caption:

“Shameful/Sad – Muslim terror in Kedarnath. Char Dham pilgrims were beaten up by Muslim horse and mule riders in the Kedarnath Ghopadav/Bhimbali area. Pilgrims were beaten with sticks, and they caused a lot of harm. This is the terror caused by these people. Even after witnessing this, the local police take no action against them. The authorities should address this issue.”

Other Facebook users have also shared the video with the same claim.

Investigation

To investigate the viral claim, we conducted an open search on Google using relevant keywords. An article published on the Navbharat Times website on June 13 states that a complaint was filed by Tanuka Pondar, a resident of Mahipalpur, Delhi, at Kotwali Sonprayag police station. According to the complaint, Tanuka was visiting Kedarnath and on June 10, while traveling from Gaurikund to Kedarnath Dham, she witnessed a severely injured horse near the Bhimbali bridge. Despite seeking help from the people present there, nobody came forward. There was a man beating other horses, and when Tanuka opposed this, several horse handlers arrived at the scene and started abusing her. They allegedly beat her and other passengers with sticks while asking them to leave Uttarakhand.

Tanuka filed the complaint on June 12, and the police have arrested five horse handlers in the case, including Ankit Singh, Santosh Kumar, Rohit Kumar and Gautam. A minor is also involved, and the authorities have been notified to cancel their licenses.

Another news article published on the Dainik Jagran website on June 13 confirms that a woman and other pilgrims participating in the Kedarnath Yatra were beaten by five horse-drawn mule drivers. The police have registered a case, made arrests, and are taking steps to cancel the accused individuals’ licenses. The accused were all residents of different locations in Rudraprayag district. A minor is also involved in the incident.

The official Twitter handle of the Rudraprayag Police (archive link) has provided information about the case in a tweet dated June 13, 2023. The names of the accused individuals mentioned are Ankit Singh, Santosh Kumar, Rohit Kumar, and Gautam Singh, residents of Aso, Jayakandi, and Jakhan Bhardar in Rudraprayag. The tweet also mentions the involvement of a minor.

For more information, we contacted Brijesh Bhatt, crime reporter of Dainik Jagran in Rudraprayag. He says, “There is no communal angle in this matter. The minor accused is also a Hindu. All the accused are local residents. The police have registered a case and arrested him.”

At the end of the investigation, we scanned the profile of Facebook user ‘Sanjay Tiwari’ who had made the video viral with a false claim by giving it a communal colour. According to this, he lives in Kanode in Madhya Pradesh and has around 5,000 friends.