Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Muslim man thrashed by angry crowd for urinating on Mahakumbh poster in Raebareli, UP.
Fact
No communal angle to the incident, UP police clarified.
A 24-second video, purportedly showing a man being beaten up by angry local residents, has gone viral with the claim that a Muslim youth was caught urinating on posters showing Hindu deities and the Mahakumbh Mela in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh. The Mahakumbh Mela, which takes place every 12 years and is currently underway in Prayagraj after it started on January 13, will conclude on February 26.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Fact Check
Newschecker first ran keyword search for “Muslim man Kumbh poster,” which led us to this Free Press Journal report, dated January 11, 2025, sharing screengrabs of the viral video.
“The incident took place on Friday (January 10) evening at the main intersection of Bachhrawan town… It can be seen in the video that the crowd is brutally beating the man after blackening his face for urinating on the banner. The police confirmed that they are investigating the viral video and are working to identify the young man involved in the incident,” read the report, which did not state that the accused was Muslim. A similar Siasat Daily report, dated January 12, 2025, can be seen here. We did not find any credible news reports stating that a Muslim youth was caught urinating on a Mahakumbh banner.
We then looked up the official X account of Raebareli Police, where we found a clarification posted on January 13, 2025, while replying to the viral video shared by another user.
“…Investigation revealed that the name of the youth was Vinod, resident of Kannauj district, who roams around on a bicycle and does the work of hawking in the market. On the night of 10.01.2025, at around 20.00 pm, he was sitting near the wall in Bachhrawan block in a very intoxicated state. Some people present there also fed him food. In an intoxicated state, he started urinating at a distance of 3-4 feet from the wall. Some people on the spot opposed him and started beating him saying that he belonged to a different community, but the people present there who recognised Vinod defended him and chased him away from the spot. Investigation revealed that the name of the youth was Vinod, resident of Kannauj district, who was urinating near the wall in an intoxicated state, unaware of the Kumbh banner. Calling the youth from a different community is completely false and baseless,” read the statement in Hindi, which confirms that there is no communal angle to the story.
Conclusion
Viral video of man thrashed for urinating on Mahakumbh poster shared with false communal claim.
Result: False
Sources
X post, Raebareli Police, January 13, 2025
FreePress Journal report, January 11, 2025
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
