A 30-second video clip is doing the rounds on social media with the claim that some people from the Muslim community pelted stones at the participants of a Shobha Yatra taken out by the Jai Bhim supporters in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14. The viral video purportedly shows some miscreants, with their faces covered, pelting stones (from their rooftops) at the gathering in the presence of police officers.
Several social media users shared the video suggesting that the attackers were Muslims. Some took a jibe at the ‘brotherhood’ between the Muslims and the members of the scheduled caste.
In Republic Bharat’s coverage of the incident, senior anchor Amit Kumar Singh says at the 1:37 minute mark, “पत्थर बरसाए जा रहे हैं….और राम नवमी की घटना आपको याद होगी लेकिन बरे सवाल एहि हैं की पथरबाज़ो के घर क्या बुलडोज़र चलाके ही क्या उनका इलाज किया जा सकता हैं ?” (Translation: Stones are being pelted…. and you must remember the incident of Ram Navami but the bigger question is can these stone pelters be treated by bulldozers?).
Twitter user हम लोग We The People (@ajaychauhan41) shared the clip, which received over 31.5k views and over 900 retweets. (Archive)
Deputy mayor of Ajmer and former national vice-president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Neeraj Jain shared the clip on Twitter, asking “Secular supporters of Bhim Army and Meem Army, have these stone-pelters come from any other country?? …Your any expert comment on this #SecularGang??”
The readers most note that the term “Meem Army” is an indirect reference to the Muslim community. The tweet has garnered over 3,000 views and 14 retweets. (Archive)
ISKCON-Kolkata vice-president Radharamn Das, who frequently puts out communal misinformation on social media, shared the tweet, stating “The Meemtas stopped bhimtas from entering their colony by throwing bricks upon them. Where are the so-called proponents of Meem+Bheem unity hiding? For meem’s, we all are Kafirs. Thats it. Don’t get fooled by them. Unite under the banner of Sanatan Dharm.” The tweet, which had received over 1,000 views, was later deleted by Das.
Several other users tweeted along similar lines. They include @MrSinha_,@GemsOfSanatan, @mysatish20, @nagmakhatun786, @akashsh82276183, @citizenship108.
The video is also viral on Facebook with similar captions.
Fact Check
A keyword search on Google revealed several news reports of the incident. As per a report by The Times of India, the incident occurred in the Bhartiya Village under Jait police station in Mathura district on April 14. The report said, “A group of men from the Thakur community had been raising objections against the Ambedkar Jayanti procession being carried out by people from the Jatav community in the vicinity.”
The Times of India quoted a local resident who said, “A day before Ambedkar Jayanti, a meeting of all communities was organised in the village. No one had objected to the proposed celebration. After getting permission from the administration, the procession was carried out in the village for the first time. A group of men from the upper caste were against it passing in front of their houses. They hurled casteist slurs and later started the stone pelting.”
An FIR had been lodged against nine known and 30-40 unknown individuals for stone-pelting and disrupting the procession. Three individuals identified as Surajbhan (55), Hukum Singh (24) and Pratap Singh (28) were arrested, while the search for others was on. Hence, it is clear that the claim that the stone-pelters were Muslims is false.
Alt News also reached out to the Mathura district SP Martand Prakash Singh, who confirmed that no Muslim person was involved in the clash and there was no communal angle to the incident. “The colony shown in the video is populated by Rajputs and upper caste Brahmins. Not even a single Muslim resides in that particular colony. The communal angle is entirely false. The incident occurred possibly due to the police’s negligence.” He also stated that the local PS in-charge, Arun Pawar, and the police booth in-charge, Shailendra Sharma, were suspended following the incident.
As per Mathura Police’s statement, no police officer or civilian was injured in the incident which occurred in Bharatiya village.
संविधान निर्माता बाबा साहब डॉ.भीमराव अम्बेडकर जी की जयंती के सम्बन्ध में अपर पुलिस अधीक्षक नगर मथुरा द्वारा दी गयी बाइट- pic.twitter.com/PdBxlwIaVG
— MATHURA POLICE (@mathurapolice) April 14, 2023
To sum up, a viral video is being circulated on social media with a false communal claim that Muslims were pelting stones at a Shobha Yatra on Ambedkar Jayanti in Bhartiya village in Mathura. However, our fact check reveals that the stone pelters were not Muslims. The Mathura SP confirmed this. While refuting the communal claims, he said that not a single Muslims resided in that particular colony.
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