Hyderabad: In the context of the ongoing Mahakumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh, a video has surfaced showing a group of people assaulting a man while using abusive language against him. Those sharing the video claim the man being assaulted is a Muslim, who was allegedly caught by the locals for urinating on photos of Mahakumbh and Hindu deities displayed on a wall.
An X user, Baba Banaras, who has been caught several times indulging in misinformation, shared the video and wrote, “Rae Bareilly, UP: Abdul Urinates on Photos of Mahakumbh and Hindu Deities on Wall, Caught by Locals. (sic)” (Archive)
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. While the video is from Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, our investigation revealed that the man accused of urinating belongs to the Hindu community.
We conducted a keyword search and found reports by Amar Ujala and India Daily published on 11 January. Both reports mentioned the viral video which captured the assault.
According to these reports, the incident allegedly occurred on the evening of 10 January, 2025, at the main intersection of Bachhrawan town in Raebareli. Locals caught the accused and assaulted him, while someone at the scene recorded the incident and shared the video on social media.
Neither report named the accused nor specified his community. However, mentioned that inspector O.P. Tiwari stated an investigation into the viral video is ongoing.
We also found another X user sharing the video with the same communal claim. However, the X handle of Raebareli Police, replying to the post, clarified that the man being assaulted in the video is named Vinod, a hawker from Kannauj district, who, in an intoxicated state, urinated near the wall, unaware of the presence of the Kumbh poster. The reply also clarified that the claim that Vinod belongs to a different community is false and baseless.
— Raebareli Police (@raebarelipolice) January 13, 2025
NewsMeter reached out to Bachhrawan SHO O.P. Tiwari, who refuted the claim that the accused belongs to the Muslim community. He clarified, “The accused’s name is Vinod, also known as Dinesh, son of Bharat, and he belongs to the Hindu community.”
Tiwari also shared a press release about the incident issued by the Bachhrawan Police Station. The statement confirmed that the accused, Vinod alias Dinesh, was arrested in accordance with the law and presented before the court.
Therefore, we conclude that the claim of a Muslim man urinating on a Kumbh Mela poster in Raebareli, UP, is false.
This story was originally published by NewsMeter as part of the Shakti Collective. Apart from the headline, excerpt and introduction, this story has not been edited by ThePrint staff.
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