Fact Check: Old Video From Kedarnath Goes Viral With Misleading Communal Claim
Vishvas News’ investigation revealed that the viral video associated with Kedarnath is not recent. Last year, horse carriage operators attacked pilgrims who protested against animal cruelty. Investigation revealed that the victim and the accused belonged to the same community and there was no communal angle to this incident.
- By: Ashish Maharishi
- Published: Aug 9, 2024 at 10:42 AM
New Delhi (Vishvas News). A video going viral on social media shows some people engaged in a fight, which is being shared with a communal claim. The post alleges that Muslim horse-carriers are the Hindus in Kedarnath.
Vishvas News investigated the viral post and found the claim to be baseless and fake. The individuals fighting in the video belong to the same community. Our investigation also revealed that the viral video is not recent but from an earlier event where the mule-pullers attacked some passengers who were protesting against animal cruelty. After the complaint, the police arrested all the accused. The investigation revealed that the victim and the accused belonged to the same community and there was no communal angle to the incident.
What is going viral?
Facebook user KKTT News (Archive) shared the video with the claim, “Shocking Behaviour- Kedarnath Dham Yatra pilgrims are being assaulted. Jihadis are forcing pilgrims to ride horses and mules, threatening that those who don’t comply won’t be allowed to go. The Jihadis are making their living off our Lord’s pilgrimage and are killing us. What has happened to us Sanatanis in our country? This video needs to be shared with every group so that the administration wakes up and the security forces see the truth. Every Indian should know the reality of this shameful act.”
The content of the viral post is shared below as it is. Some users are sharing this video with the same claim. You can view the archived version of the post here.
Investigation
Vishwas News began its investigation using the Google Open Search Tool to investigate the viral post. By searching with relevant keywords, we discovered older news reports related to the incident on several news websites. According to a report by Navbharat Times on June 13, 2023, “Tanuka Paundar, a resident of Mahipalpur Delhi, filed a complaint with the police at Kotwali Sonprayag. She stated that she had come to visit Baba Kedarnath. On June 10, while on a pilgrimage from Gaurikund to Kedarnath Dham, she saw a horse in critical condition near Bhimbali Bridge. Despite asking for help, no one assisted her Meanwhile, she witnessed a person beating other horses. When she protested, many horse operators reached and began abusing and beating her and other passengers with sticks. They were also asked to leave Uttarakhand. Tanuka filed a police complaint on June 12 and a case was registered against five horse operators. Ankit Singh, Santosh Kumar, Rohit Kumar and Gautam were arrested in this case, along with a minor involved in the incident. Rudraprayag DSP Harshvardhan Suman confirmed that a case has been registered against the accused and district administration has been informed to revoke their license.”
Similarly, a news report published on Jagran.com on June 13, 2023, detailed that a woman and other pilgrims on Kedarnath Yatra were assaulted by five horse and mule operators. The police registered a case and arrested the accused identified as Ankit Singh, Santosh Kumar, and Rohit Kumar, all residents of Jayakandi, police station Agastyamuni, district Rudraprayag along with Gautam Singh, a resident of village Jakhan Bhardar police station, district Rudraprayag. A minor was also involved in the case.
The investigation has made it clear that both the victim and the accused belonged to the same community.
Further, we found a tweet from the Rudraprayag Police X handle posted on June 13, 2023. The tweet confirmed that a case was registered at Kotwali Sonprayag against the horse mule operators who assaulted the devotees on the Kedarnath Dham footpath. The accused were identified as Ankit Singh, Santosh Kumar, Rohit Kumar resident of village Aso, Jayakandi, Rudraprayag and Gautam resident of village Jakhan Bhardar, Rudraprayag.
During the investigation, we found a press note on the Facebook page of Rudraprayag Police that described the incident in detail. It can be read below.
Vishwas News continued its investigation by contacting Brijesh Bhatt, a crime reporter in Dainik Jagran, Rudraprayag. He confirmed that there was no communal angle in the viral incident and that all the accused were Hindus.
Vishvas News had previously investigated this viral post. You can read the investigation report by clicking here.
Finally, Vishvas News investigated the user who made the viral video with misleading and communal claims and found it on the Facebook page KKTT News, followed by more than 1000 people.
Conclusion: Vishvas News’ investigation revealed that the viral video associated with Kedarnath is not recent. Last year, horse carriage operators attacked pilgrims who protested against animal cruelty. Investigation revealed that the victim and the accused belonged to the same community and there was no communal angle to this incident.
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