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| - Fact Check: No violence reported in MP's Khargone, this video of stone pelting is from Howrah
Social media users shared a video falsely claiming that clashes had erupted in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone over Ram Navami celebrations. However, the clip was from West Bengal's Howrah where violence broke out.
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India Today Fact Check
This video is not from Khargone, but from Howrah, West Bengal. This happened on the evening of March 30. No violence was reported in Khargone this year.
For the past few days, social media platforms have been flooded with distressing visuals of the violence that broke out during and after the Ram Navami celebration on March 30. Except for some scattered incidents of communal clashes and unrest in a few states, the celebration remained largely peaceful.
One such video of a mob pelting stones is doing rounds on social media. Those sharing the video claimed that it is from the violence that ensued in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh. Not to forget that last year Khargone witnessed a series of violence during the Ram Navami celebrations.
A social media user, while sharing the clip wrote, “70 terrorists stone pelters in Khargone Madhya Pradesh arrested in view of Violence on Ram Navami."
An archived version of one such post can be seen here.
AFWA's probe, however, revealed that the video is not from Madhya Pradesh but from the communal clashes that erupted in Howrah, West Bengal.
AFWA Probe
Around the three-second timestamp of the viral video, a pair of Kolkata's iconic yellow cabs can be seen, hinting that the visuals are probably from somewhere near Kolkata.
A reverse image search of the keyframes extracted from the viral video led us to West Bengal's BJP state president Dr Sukanta Majumder’s tweet, which contained the same viral video.
The tweet attributed the visuals to the alleged violence and arson during Ram Navami in West Bengal. However, it didn’t pinpoint the exact location of the incident.
On further probe, we found a news report by Lokmat Times published on April 1, 2023. The report featured a screenshot from the viral video and stated that clashes broke out in Howrah, the adjoining district to Kolkata.
Around the 56-second timestamp of the viral video, a shop with a signboard reading "Ghose's eye clinic" could be spotted. On running a keyword search for the shop on Google maps, we geolocated it to GT Road, Shibpur, in Howrah.
The screengrabs from the viral video matched the images of the shop found on Google maps. Going further, we reached out to the "Ghose's eye clinic". A staff member, who does not want to be named, confirmed to AFWA that the violence indeed took place on the evening of March 30, when processions of Ram Navami were carried out.
No violence in Khargone
We, then, searched for news reports to confirm if any similar incident had occurred in Khargone, but didn’t come across any.
However, a couple of articles from ABP News and Amar Ujala noted that a saffron flag was hoisted on a Dargah, following which a complaint was lodged by the police.
Thereupon, we also spoke to AajTak's Khargone correspondent Umesh Revliya, who confirmed that no violence was reported.
Rather, in a harmonious atmosphere, people from the Muslim community showered flowers when the Ram Navami procession was taken out. An article by Dainik Bhaskar also reported the same.
Thus, it can be concluded beyond doubt that a video of violence during Ram Navami celebrations in Howrah, West Bengal, was falsely attributed to Khargone, Madhya Pradesh.
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