Chemical blast in Hyderabad mosque? False news by Aaj Tak, OpIndia - Alt News
Abhishek Kumar
17th June 2022 / 8:02 pm
A section of the media reported that a chemical blast at the Gowliguda Masjid in Hyderabad left one Bharat Bathod dead and his father Venugopal seriously injured.
Aaj Tak published this story but later updated it. An archived version of its original article can be read here.
Right-wing propaganda website OpIndia also covered the incident. It claimed that a chemical blast had taken place in a mosque in Hyderabad. (Archive link)
News portal Inkhabar amplified the claim. (Archive link)
This claim is viral on Facebook and Twitter.
Alt News conducted a keyword search on Google which led us to news reports on the incident by Jansatta, The News Minute, Outlook, news agency ANI and The New Indian Express. According to these reports, the explosion took place when a chemical container near a drain in the jurisdiction of Afzalgunj police station, Hyderabad, was being cleaned. One person died on the spot and another was injured. According to the police, the deceased has been identified as Bharat Bathod and the wounded has been identified as Venugopal, the father of the deceased.
The Siasat Daily has also published a report on this incident. According to this article, Bharat Giriraj was involved in chemical business with a company. He had been dumping expired chemicals into a manhole located in front of his house, for a long period of time. On June 12, Bharat dropped a load of chemicals in the drain which led to clogging. He then poured water to clear the blockage, resulting in the blast.
Alt News reached out to SHO of Afzalgunj Police Station Ravindra Reddy. He informed that the deceased used to run a chemical shop. He discarded expired chemicals in the drain, leading to a blockage that he tried to clear with a rod. SHO Reddy said that the pressure led the chemicals to drop at the bottom of the drain and caused a blast. Bharat lost his life while his father was seriously injured. According to eyewitnesses, the blast was so strong that Bharat’s body was blown to pieces and the drain was also destroyed.
Since the case is still being investigated by a forensic team, Alt News cannot confirm what triggered the explosion. However, it is clear that this blast did not happen inside a mosque.
The incident was, therefore, given a false anti-Muslim shade.
Abhishek is a senior fact-checking journalist and researcher at Alt News. He has a keen interest in information verification and technology. He is always eager to learn new skills, explore new OSINT tools and techniques. Prior to joining Alt News, he worked in the field of content development and analysis with a major focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
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