Villagers placed stones on NTPC rail tracks after cows mowed down; photo peddled with false communal claims

An image of stones stacked on railway tracks is doing the rounds of social media. The picture shows a GPS map camera location of Mamoli, Uttar Pradesh. Social media users have claimed that people from the Muslim community placed stones to cause accidents and hinder railway services.

X (formerly Twitter) account Squint Neon (@TheSquind) tweeted the picture with the caption, “This is literally terrorism. It’s a long term game. Spreading the parasites into our own country & then devour us from inside.” We would like our readers to know that Squint Neon has been regularly found sharing misinformation and communal propaganda. 

This is literally terrorism.

It’s a long term game.

Spreading the parasites into our own country & then devour us from inside. pic.twitter.com/6lojTR6kep

— Squint Neon (@TheSquind) October 31, 2024

The tweet has garnered around 1.59 Lakh views and 4,300 retweets.

Another X user, Kajal Kushwaha (@Kajal_Kushwaha9), tweeted the same picture and wrote, “Even after so much effort, if the train fails to derail- shame on Lillah.”

बताओ , इतनी मेहनत करने के बाद भी ट्रेन न पलटे तो – थू है लिल्लाह पर। 😎 pic.twitter.com/78QWTEmTe6

— Kajal Kushwaha (@Kajal_Kushwaha9) October 29, 2024

Similarly, X user Amitabh Chaudhary (@MithilaWaala) tweeted the picture claiming it to be an act of ‘rail-jihad’. The caption read, “This #RailJihad is nothing but Terr0rism and such terr0rists should meet the fate and grave like Kasab, Afzal, Burhan & Yakub soon ..:”

This #RailJihad is nothing but Terr0rism and such terr0rists should meet the fate and grave like Kasab, Afzal, Burhan & Yakub soon ..: pic.twitter.com/XAwUJSVZ7S

— Amitabh Chaudhary (@MithilaWaala) November 2, 2024

Several other social media users have made similar claims.

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Fact Check

According to the Google GPS time-stamp, the picture was taken on October 28, 2024, near Mamoli village in Meja tehsil, Prayagraj district in Uttar Pradesh.

We found a reply from the official X account of RPF Prayagraj division (@rpfncrpryj) to a tweet by Rajendra Kukreja (@rajenderkukreja). It said, “The villagers had placed stones on the railway tracks in order to claim compensation from the NTPC following cattle getting mowed down. Taking the matter seriously, the NTPC supervisor has submitted a written complaint to the concerned Meja police station for legal action. The case is related to NTPC, and the safety and maintenance of the area are managed by NTPC.” 

गाय कटने पर एनटीपीसी से मुआवजा लेने के लिए ग्रामीणों द्वारा पत्थर रखा गया था मामले को गंभीरता से लेते हुए एनटीपीसी सुपरवाइजर संबंधित थाना मेजा में विधिक कार्यवाहीं हेतु एक लिखित तहरीर दिए है मामला एनटीपीसी से संबंधित है व सुरक्षा वह देख रेख एनटीपीसी द्वारा ही किया जाता है

— RPF PRAYAGRAJ DIV. (@rpfncrpryj) October 29, 2024

Fact-checking website Boomlive spoke to locals. They said, the incident took place on a railway track connecting the NTPC power plant to Mamoli village in Meja. It is not a passenger train route, but a track primarily used to serve the power plant. Villagers generally take their cattle for grazing across the railway tracks towards the hills. Two cows were accidentally hit by a train that led to the angry villagers placing stones on the train tracks. Though later they persuaded themselves to remove the stones.

Meja assistant commissioner of police Ravi Kumar Gupta confirmed to Boomlive that there was no communal angle to the incident. He clarified that the people involved in the action were all Hindus.

To sum up, the image of stones stacked on railway tracks in Mamoli village of Uttar Pradesh is being circulated with false communal claims.