Alwar family feud over property given communal spin on social media

A video of some men beating up others with sticks is viral on social media with the claim that Muslims were assaulting Hindus in Alwar, Rajasthan. (Archive)

अलवर में मुसलमानों ने हिंदुओं को घरों में घुस कर लाठी डंडों से मारा 😴 pic.twitter.com/qcBTdECzL4

— Dilip Kumar Singh (@DilipKu24388061) January 27, 2024

Several X users have tweeted the same video and amplified the viral claim. (Archives- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

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The video has also been circulated on Facebook several times.

Alt News also received several requests on its WhatsApp tipline.

Fact Check

We noticed that some of the videos in circulation had the Hindi text ‘थानागाजी’ imposed at the top left corner.

Thanagazi is a village in the Alwar district of Rajasthan. Upon a relevant keyword search, we found some reports containing some stills from the viral video. According to a report by media outlet Patrika, a fight took place between two factions of the same family over ancestral land and a house. The report stated that according to Thanagazi police, Sitaram and Ramswaroop were two brothers and Sitaram passed away five years ago. On the evening of January 18, 2024, a dispute between Rohitash, son of Ramswaroop, and the family of late Sitaram, over the division of agricultural land and a house escalated into a violent conflict. In the clash involving sticks and other weapons, a dozen individuals from both sides, including men, women, and children, sustained injuries.

This information was also corroborated by Ramesh Meena from Thanagazi police. Speaking to Alt News, he refuted claims of a communal angle to the incident and stated that the two sides had a dispute over the division of land and house.

According to a Dainik Bhaskar report on the same, the incident took place near Chima Ki Dhani, Duhar Chogan on Biharisar Road in Thanagazi police station area. Thanagazi Police had reportedly arrested seven people in the matter. Seventy-year-old Ramswaroop and a 65-year-old woman were attacked by their family members over ownership of an old house. Four people kept beating the elderly man with sticks even though he kept pleading with them.

We sourced a video statement on the incident by Alwar SP Anand Sharma given to media persons. According to Sharma, the claims are misleading. The altercation was between members of the same family. An FIR and counter FIR were also filed in relation to the case. “There’s no question of a Hindu-Muslim angle. This is the same family, same caste. The legal actions that were required in this matter have been taken and are ongoing.” He also appealed to users to refrain from sharing misleading claims and said that legal action would be taken against those spreading misinformation.

The official handle of Alwar Police had tweeted a statement mentioning that all individuals involved in the case are Hindus, in reply to a now-deleted tweet.

pic.twitter.com/JWit5ZXLMN

— Alwar Police (@AlwarPolice) January 27, 2024

We sourced both the FIRs filed in the case. The first FIR, filed on January 19, 2024, mentions Rohitash, Ramswaroop, Jiwan, Umashankar, Tekchand, Nirma, Khusbu, Dayashankar, Devendra, Midhro, Krishana, Kripa, Nisha, Nilam and Rekha as the accused. All the accused persons are Hindu. According to complainant Tulsiram Sharma, on January 18, 2024, between 3:30 and 4:00 PM, the accused persons suddenly entered the complainant’s premises forcibly, armed with sticks, rods, and other weapons. The complainant’s family was then attacked, resulting in injuries. The attackers also allegedly prevented the complainant’s family from escaping. The FIR also mentions that this was not the first time the individuals had attacked the complainant’s family.

The second FIR named Badami, Yogesh, Tulsi, Anchal, Komal, Satish, Jitendra, Rambarosha, Suman, Pooja, Sushila, Girral, Gajanand, Teena, Gopal, Kala Devi, Krishana, Rajan, Sayar Devi and Mohit as the accused. Here too, all the accused persons are from the Hindu community. Rohitash’s daughter filed the complaint in which she claimed that the accused persons had allegedly barged into their house to cause harm, and the complainant’s family was mercilessly beaten up with the weapons they carried. In the process, Devesh, Umashankar and Tekchand were severely injured and had to be transported to Thanagazi Community Health Center for medical treatment.

Hence, a video of a physical altercation between two factions of the same Hindu family is viral on social media with a false communal spin.