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| - Fact Check: Shops caught fire due to short circuit, video shared as of Nagaland violence
A video showing firefighters trying to douse flames in some roadside shops has gone viral.
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India Today Fact Check
This video is of a fire that had broken out in Tuensang on December 5 due to short circuit. A few shops were damaged in the blaze. The video is not related to the protests that broke out following the killing of civilians by security forces.
Protests broke out across Nagaland after the December 4 killing of civilians in a botched-up security operation. In Mon district, where the incident took place, locals even attacked an Assam Rifles camp that led to more fatalities.
In the backdrop of these developments, a video showing firefighters trying to douse flames in some roadside shops has gone viral. It is being said that the visuals are from Tuensang in Nagaland, where locals resorted to arson in protest against the killings.
A Twitter user shared the video with a caption in Hindi which translates to, “An act of arson in Tuensang, Nagaland, after the killing of 13 civilians, including six coal mine labourers.”
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the claim along with the video to be misleading. The video is of a fire that had broken out in Tuensang on December 5 due to a short circuit. A few shops were damaged in the blaze. The video is not related to the protests in Nagaland.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Several mainstream news publications such as “The Economic Times” and “Mirror Now” also used the video in their reports on mob vandalism in Mon district.
AFWA probe
Lenio Krichena, a journalist who primarily covers news from the Northeast, had recently pointed out that the fire seen in the video had broken out after a short circuit.
#FakeNews | This visuals are from Tuensang, fire broke out after a short circuit, 8-9 shops gutted down in fire. NOT RELATED TO MON FIRING INCIDENT https://t.co/cpZqUyO8a4 — Lenio Krichena (@LenioKrichena) December 5, 2021
“North East Blog”, a Twitter handle that describes its forte as “Unplugged bites from North East India”, had also tweeted that the video does not show mob vandalism.
Hi @bijukrdeka
You might want to see this. The incident that you have happily attributed as mob vandalism in your report. Do check facts and talk to your fellow journalists. https://t.co/pfCv2WCt44 — North East Blog (@northeastblog) December 6, 2021
We contacted both Lenio Krichena and the “North East Blog” team who confirmed to us that the video is not related to any vandalism.
From the horse’s mouth
We contacted Kanchan Kandpal, SDPO Tuensang, who told us that he is the man in green jacket seen running around in the viral video. Kandpal told AFWA that the video is not related to any act of mob vandalism.
“After the death of the civilians in Mon district, there have been candle marches as a symbol of protest by the people in Tuensang. However, there has been no act of vandalism here so far,” Kandpal added.
Recalling the incident, he said, “On Sunday (December 5), at around 3:30 pm, somebody informed me over phone that a fire has broken out at the bazaar. I immediately rushed to the place with my team. Luckily, the firefighters were able to control the fire within 30 minutes with the help of police and locals. A few shops were damaged, but there were no casualties.”
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Tuensang, Ajit Kumar Verma, also told AFWA that the claim of vandalism along with the video is false. Further, Tuensang Police has refuted the viral claim on Twitter.
It has been come to notice that some people are circulating rumours about fire at bazar point Tuensang https://t.co/eDfiAYFemW has no connection with any other https://t.co/66vczcGlO7 broke out due to suspected short circuit. Situation under control. — Tuensang Police (@TuensangP) December 6, 2021
Evidently, a video of a fire caused due to short circuit is being falsely shared as an act of mob violence in Nagaland.
Also read: Fact Check: Namaaz, yoga and more! Controversial statement wrongly attributed to Priyanka Gandhi
Also read: Fact Check: Old video from Colombia falsely linked to Nagaland civilian killings
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