Old video of village drama from Rajasthan shared as Muslims sacrifice boy as ritual

“ये कौनसा धर्म है भाया जिसने एक मासूम बच्चे की बली चढ़ा दी और सारे लोग खुशियां मना रहे हैं sayad ye sab log musalman lagte he,” is a message viral on Facebook. It claims that a boy was sacrificed as per a religious tradition and suggests that the ones behind the ritual were Muslims. One a Facebook page ‘I am with Rvish kumar NDTV’, the video has attracted 3,600 shares.

Incidentally, the clip has also been circulated with a ‘love jihad’ angle.

It has been shared by several users on the platform.

VIRAL SINCE LAST YEAR

A set of photos depicting the same event were circulated in October 2018 captioned as, “कृपया शेयर करें, और अन्धविश्वास मुक्त भारत बनाने में सहयोग करें (Please share and help create a superstition-free India).” The claim suggested that a young boy in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara was beheaded and offered as a sacrifice as part of a ritual. From a Facebook page impersonating journalist Abhay Dubey, the post had been shared over 2,600 times.

A video of the alleged incident was also widely circulated, with the claims viral on both Facebook and Twitter.

BOY NOT SACRIFICED

The narrative used to circulate the visuals is false. A statement put out by Rajasthan police both Facebook and Twitter on October last year said – “A video of a boy sacrificed in Bhilwara, meant for entertainment purposes, is being shared by giving it a superstitious narrative on social media in order to mislead people. In reality, this a magic show which is held every year during Navratri. The drama that takes place in village Khakhla is being circulated with a false narrative. (translated)”

#SocialMedia पर भीलवाड़ा जिले में बच्चे की बलि दे गांव में जुलूस निकालने के वीडियो में मनोरंजन को अंधविश्वास का रूप देकर भ्रमित किया गया। वास्तव में यह हर वर्ष की भांति नवरात्रि में जादू करतब से मनोरंजन का नाटकीय रूप है। ग्राम खाखला के कार्यक्रम को गलत तरीके से वायरल किया गया है।

— Rajasthan Police (@PoliceRajasthan) October 20, 2018

Bhilwara police also put out a similar statement and tweeted the image of the boy who can be seen in the viral photographs. The boy is alive and well.

वायरल मैसेज भीलवाड़ा जिले में अंधविश्वास की हदें पार किसी गांव में छोटे बच्चे की बलि दे गांव में निकला जुलूस *यह कोई घटना नहीं है बल्कि थाना गंगापुर के ग्राम खाकरा मैं हर वर्ष की भांति नवरात्रि के दिनों में जादू टोना ग्राम वासियों के मनोरंजन करने के लिए किया जाता हैं।* pic.twitter.com/IBECo8ciVS

— Bhilwara Police (@Bhilwara_Police) October 20, 2018

Visuals of a magic show held in a village in Rajasthan were attempted to be communalised, implicating the Muslim community for human sacrifice.

[This article was first published on October 20, 2018.]