A 26-second clip showing a group of boys throwing stones at each other on what appears to be a temple premises has gone viral on social media. Users are widely sharing this video with the claim that it was ‘jihadis’ (referring to individuals from the Muslim community) who were responsible for stone-pelting inside the temple and causing a rampage.
Right-wing propaganda outlet Sudarshan News shared a video report on the incident on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that a group of “jihadis” attacked the temple. The video also featured a ticker in Hindi reading, “Jihadi terror in Mata Mandir, when will action be taken?” The video was later deleted.
Sudarshan News ‘senior journalist’ Sagar Kumar (@KumaarSaagar), who has been found sharing disinformation and communal propaganda on multiple occasions, posted the same video and mentioned in the caption: “In Jahangirpuri, jihadis suddenly started pelting stones at the Kali Mata temple. It’s being reported that it was a fight between children, so why target the temple with stone pelting?” He later deleted the tweet.
Premium subscribed X user Deepak Sharma (@SonOfBharat7) who has often used the platform to amplify communal misinformation, also shared the viral clip with a caption in Hindi that can be translated as: “Attack on temple by Jihadis. In Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, Muslims targeted the Durga temple amid a personal dispute… Vandalized the temple by throwing stones 📍Keep sleeping, Hindus” (Archive)
जिहादियों का मंदिर पे हमला
दिल्ली जहांगीर पूरी में आपसी विवाद में मुसलमानों ने दुर्गा मंदिर को निशाना बनाया…
पत्थरबाज़ी करके मंदिर में की तोड़फोड़ 📍
सोते रहो हिन्दुओं 🖐️ pic.twitter.com/0YHo9BGfV1
— Deepak Sharma (@SonOfBharat7) November 4, 2024
Several other users and pages such as @KreatelyMedia, @AvkushSingh, @TufailChaturve, @Sudanshutrivedi tweeted the viral clip with the same claim.
Fact Check
On running a relevant keyword search in Hindi we came across several news reports related to the incident. According to a report by ABP News, the incident took place on November 4 in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri area. The report further mentioned that as per the information that police had gathered, a dispute between two groups consisting of mostly young boys broke out. The boys from both groups belong to the same community. As the clash continued, one group ran inside the temple and the other group pelted stones from outside.
As per a report by NDTV, the stone-pelting first took place outside the temple and two persons were injured in this confrontation.
Neither of the reports had any mention of any communal angle in the matter. In fact, both specified that both the groups belong to the same community.
Further, we came across a tweet by journalist Lavely Bakshi (@lavelybakshi) which carried a video statement by DCP north west Delhi Abhishek Dhania. The DCP categorically denies any communal angle to the incident. He also clarifies that social media posts claiming that ‘jihadis’ were responsible for this incident are completely fake and baseless. All those involved in stone-pelting belong to the same religious group and community, he adds.
The DCP says in his statement:
“Two groups belonging to the same religion and from the same community, and almost all of them juveniles had a fight among themselves. Then they resorted to stone-pelting. During the clash, one group ran into the temple premises and began throwing stones from there. When police began their investigation, we found that these two groups had a history of conflicts. Additionally, three of the juveniles are CCLs (Children in Conflict with the Law) with prior FIRs filed against them… Two of the juveniles were injured and they were admitted to a hospital where they received care and have now been discharged. We have taken legal action against all the juvenile accused in this matter.
Additionally, I would also like to say that some people are using this event to disturb communal harmony. On social media, particularly on Twitter, the whole incident has been projected falsely by some people, where it has been shown that Jihadis attacked the temple. There is no such angle. All of this is fake and baseless, and there is no truth in it… Cyber team of district police is working on it and we have identified three-four Twitter handles which deliberately leaked some footage of the incident with a false message so that our communal harmony is disturbed. We will take action against them…”
दिल्ली के जहांगीरपुरी इलाके के ए ब्लॉक में काली माता मंदिर में हुए बीती रात पथराव का एक वीडियो तेजी से वायरल हुआ जिसको कुछ शरारती तत्वों ने दूसरा एंगल देने की कोशिश की जबकि यह कुछ जूविनाइल लड़कों का आपसी झगड़ा था और इसका किसी विशेष समुदाय से कोई लेना-देना नहीं था
पुलिस ने… https://t.co/9CKNevI15U pic.twitter.com/OpALL66vlC
— Lavely Bakshi (@lavelybakshi) November 5, 2024
To sum up, a section of social media users added a communal spin to an incident of a fight among juveniles in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri area. Police has confirmed that there was no communal angle to the incident. And that social media posts claiming that ‘jihadis’ were responsible for this incident are completely fake and baseless. All those involved in the incident belonged to the same religious group and community.
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