A video shared by several social media users shows a mob vandalising a public bus by smashing its windows with bricks. It is being claimed that the incident occurred in Mumbai when an auto driver, angered with the recent fare drop for BEST buses running between BKC and station, wrecked a bus after Friday’s Namaaz.
Jumme ki namaz ke baad ….auto wale ne BKC me khadi BEST ki bus ki todfod ki …kyuki wo log ne low rate me BKC to Stn seva start ki …..
Posted by Vimal Thakkar on Friday, 12 July 2019
The corresponding message reads, “Jumme ki namaz ke baad ….auto wale ne BKC me khadi BEST ki bus ki todfod ki …kyuki wo log ne low rate me BKC to Stn seva start ki (After Friday’s prayers, an auto driver smashed a BEST bus because the rate between BKC to the station has been lowered.)”
The claim is also circulating on Twitter.
Jumme ki namaz ke baad ….auto wale ne BKC me khadi BEST ki bus ki todfod ki …kyuki wo log ne low rate me BKC to Stn seva start ki ….. its Dangerous site . Signal of future what lies ahead of us. pic.twitter.com/AxoOg56Oqg
— Milind Thuse (@milindthusempt) July 13, 2019
Another caption used to share the video says – “Oppose of bus route started to Bandra to BKC by group of Muslim Rikshawala’s running share Riksha on that route.” The same has been posted on Twitter as well.
Oppose of bus route started to Bandra to BKC by group of Muslim Rikshawala’s running share Riksha on that route
Posted by Chetan Mehta on Friday, 12 July 2019
Video from Gujarat
Alt News closely analysed the video and found that the incident took place in Surat, Gujarat and not Mumbai, Maharashtra.
The word ‘SITILINK’ is imprinted on the side of the bus. SITILINK stands for Surat Bus Rapid Transit System, which is an integrated public bus transportation system that runs only in Surat.
The second clue was the number plate of the bus. A faint ‘GJ 05’ is visible at numerous points in the video. GJ 05 is the RTO vehicle registration code for Surat.
When we looked for related videos on YouTube with the keyword ‘stone-pelting bus surat’, we found one shot at the same location and uploaded by Surat-based Divang News Channel. This clip showed scenes in the aftermath of the attack. The video was titled, “Surat: Police fire tear gas shells as rally against mob lynching incidents turns violent.”
TV9 Gujarati also reported the incident. A rally to protest mob lynchings was taken out in Surat on July 5. The agitation, however, turned violence and mob began pelting stones. The Times of India reported, “A section of [the] crowd went berserk when the rally participants were not allowed to go beyond Makkai Pool to submit a memorandum to [the] district collector. According to the report, two buses were attacked. “The mob targeted a city bus near Take Off restaurant and broke its window panes and the other at another place,” it said.
Forty people have been reportedly arrested for perpetrating the violence.
An incident of mob violence that occurred in Surat, Gujarat was falsely shared on social media as Muslim auto drivers protesting the recent ticket price drop for BEST buses in Mumbai.
