2019 Gujarat mob violence video viral again with messages targeting Muslims

Several social media users are sharing a video in which a mob is vandalizing a public bus and breaking its windows with bricks. Most of the people seen in the crowd are wearing caps generally worn by Muslims. A Twitter handle named @Congress_Indira has used abusive words for Muslims while sharing this video on 1 August 2023. (Archived link)

Users like Sonam Mahajan, Gopal Goswami and Neeraj Atri shared this video on August 2, 2023 and targeted Muslims.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Alt News has received requests on its WhatsApp helpline to fact-check the video.

The video Went Viral in 2019 as well

In 2019, the same video had gone viral with the claim that it was from Mumbai. It was also claimed that an auto driver in Mumbai attacked a BEST bus after Friday prayers.

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 while sharing the video said: “Oppose of bus route started to Bandra to BKC by group of Muslim Rikshawala’s running share Riksha on that route.” (sic) The same has been shared on Twitter as well.

Fact Check

Alt News closely analysed the video and found that the incident had taken 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 violent and the 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.

As many as 40 people were reportedly arrested for perpetrating the violence.

To sum up, an incident of mob violence that occurred in Surat, Gujarat in 2019, is being falsely shared on social media targeting Muslims at a time when communal flareups have claimed at least 5 lives in Haryana.