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| - Fact Check: NOT Hathras stampede! This old video is from a pre-Holi event in Mathura
India Today Fact Check found that a massive footfall at a Mathura temple on Laddoo Maar Holi resulted in a "stampede-like" situation.
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India Today Fact Check
This video is from March 17, 2024, and shows overcrowding during a pre-Holi event in Mathura.
In Uttar Pradesh's Hathras, a stampede at an overcrowded satsang for self-styled godman Narayan Sakaar Hari, also known as Bhole Baba, has reportedly led to at least 121 deaths. Now, a video allegedly showing the tragic incident is going viral on social media.
Sharing the clip on Instagram, one person wrote, “At least 116 people, mostly women, lost their lives in a stampede during a religious event in Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh.” Its archive can be seen here.
India Today Fact Check found this old video which shows a pre-Holi event in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura. It has nothing to do with the Hathras stampede.
OUR PROBE
A reverse search of keyframes from the viral video led us to a post from March 17, 2024. It stated that this video showed a stampede at a pre-Holi event at a Mathura temple.
Further searches led us to a longer and uncropped version of the viral video shared by NDTV on March 17. According to NDTV’s report , this video was from the Shreeji Temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura, where a stampede broke out during a pre-Holi event on March 17.
According to police officials, a massive footfall was recorded at the temple on the occasion of Laddoo Maar Holi, resulting in a “stampede-like” situation. At least six people reportedly lost consciousness and got injured. Doctors stationed onsite gave the victims first aid who were then transferred to nearby hospitals. Further, a contingent of police was sent to the temple to restore order.
At the time, the same video was also shared by other media outlets while the Press Trust of India shared a video of the injured devotees.
It is noteworthy that Mathura SSP Shailesh Kumar Pandey admitted to overcrowding during the Laddoo Maar Holi celebrations, but denied rumours of a stampede.
It is thus clear that an old video was falsely shared as the deadly Hathras stampede.
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