A CCTV clip showing a man dragging another person by a rope tied around his neck is being shared with the claim that a Muslim man assaulted a Hindu temple priest in Adhoni village of Haryana’s Kurukshetra because the temple was obstructing devotees from visiting a nearby dargah.
Verified X user @MrTiwaree shared the video and claimed the perpetrator’s name was Gaffar Ali. His post received over 800,00 views. (Archive)
This beast must not be spared..🔥
Repost until arrest, Hindus…. 🚨
In Kurukshetra, Haryana, dargah mullah Gaffar Ali broke the temple priest’s legs, put a noose around his neck, and dragged him like an animal… just because the temple was stopping crowds from visiting his… pic.twitter.com/EhGwXxsoQi
— Mr Tiwaree (@MrTiwaree) July 10, 2026
On Facebook, too, several users posted this video and claimed that the attacker was Gaffar Ali. One such post — by a user named Sanjay Pradhan — has been reshared over 800 times.
Across platforms, several users amplified the viral claim.
Fact Check
A reverse image search of a keyframe from the viral video led us to several news articles about a man named Pankaj and his wife, Manpreet, who had on July 9 beaten up 74-year-old Yogiraj, the priest of a Shiva temple in Kurukshetra.
We found a detailed report in Dainik Bhaskar. It says around five years ago, Pankaj built a shrine (dargah) behind his house, directly opposite the temple which is about 20-year old. After Yogiraj arrived at the temple about two months ago, the number of devotees increased there and surpassed that of the dargah. Pankaj held a grudge against the priest because of this.
According to villagers, Pankaj had threatened Yogiraj, saying that if he did not leave the temple, he would be assaulted. Pankaj also organised a ‘bhandara’ (feast) to attract more devotees, but that did not help the situation. The high attendance at the temple continued.
The Bhaskar report contains other videos related to the incident that have since emerged. In these, the accused is seen taking a large stick from his wife and entering the temple. After the attack, Pankaj tied a towel around the priest’s neck and dragged him through the street.
We found a post on the Facebook page of Kurukshetra Police which announced the arrests of Pankaj and Manpreet. It says, “Under the guidance of superintendent of police Chandra Mohan, Kurukshetra Police has taken strict action. A team from Sadar Thanesar police station arrested Pankaj and his wife for brutally assaulting a priest at a temple in Adhoni village. There is no place for those who take the law into their own hands.”
Alt News spoke to SHO Randhir Singh, who confirmed that the accused, Pankaj Saini and his wife, Manpreet, were Hindus.
To sum up, the claim that the man who assaulted a priest in Kurukshetra and was seen in a viral video dragging him along the street was not a Muslim. His name is not Gaffar Ali. The assault was carried out by a Hindu man named Pankaj Saini and his wife Manpreet. The couple have since been arrested.
