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.
The unprecedented heavy rain that has lashed Bengaluru recently has resulted in waterlogged streets and challenges for authorities to clear the water in time. Several videos have gone viral highlighting the plight of citizens and the flooded areas across the IT hub. One of them shows a crocodile wading through a narrow street between two rows of houses.
Fact check
A reverse image search of key frames of the video led us to multiple news reports of a crocodile sighting in a residential locality in Madhya Pradesh. According to the PTI report, published on August 14, 2022 by Republic World, “A crocodile wandered into a residential colony in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district amid heavy rainfall on Sunday and was captured after an hour-long operation, an official said.”
The news reports credited the image to one @Pankajtumhara on Twitter. We then saw his tweet on August 14, 2022, attaching the same video that has gone viral now with the false claim that the incident is from Bengaluru.
India Today also tweeted a video on August 17, saying that an eight-foot-long crocodile was spotted in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh amid heavy rainfall.
Conclusion
The viral video claiming that a crocodile is wading through a flooded Bengaluru locality is actually from Madhya Pradesh, where heavy rain caused floods in August 2022.
Result: Partly false
Sources
Republic World report, August 14, 2022
Pankaj Arora tweet, August 14, 2022
If you would like us to fact-check a claim, give feedback, or lodge a complaint, WhatsApp us at 9999499044 or email us at checkthis@newschecker.in. You can also visit the Contact Us page and fill out the form.
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.
