Fact Check: This video of mob vandalising buses is neither recent nor from Haryana

By Dheeshma Puzhakkal:

At least six people were killed and dozens, including several policemen, were injured after violence broke out in Haryana's Nuh district on July 31, fuelling communal tensions across the state.

Amid this unrest, a video began circulating on social media showing a group of people engaging in a fight and vandalising buses. Claims accompanying the video stated that it showed Muslims destroying public property during the ongoing riots in Haryana. In the video, police and locals could also be seen attempting to pacify the situation. The archived versions of such posts can be seen here and here.

India Today found that the video in question is not related to the recent violence in Haryana, Instead, it was from a 2019 incident in Gujarat’s Surat.

Our Probe

A reverse search of the viral video’s keyframes led us to the same video shared on Facebook in July 2019. According to the post, the video was from Surat.

Additionally, we found a similar video from the same location on a YouTube channel “Divyang News Channel”, posted on July 5, 2019. According to the channel, the video captured a clash that broke out in Surat during a rally against mob lynching incidents. “Surat l Police fire tear gas shells as rally against mob lynching incidents turns violent,” read the title of the video.

TV9 Gujarati and ABP Asmita also uploaded similar videos on their YouTube channels on the same day, July 5, 2019, reporting it as a rally against mob lynching incidents in Surat.

The Indian Express reported that on July 5, 2019, Versatile Minority Forum president advocate Babu Pathan and his associates took out a rally to condemn the mob lynching of Tabrez Ansari. Twenty-four-year-old Ansari died in Jharkhand’s Sarikela-Kharsawan district in June 2019, days after he was tied to an electricity pole, assaulted, and allegedly forced to chant religious slogans under the suspicion of theft.

As the rally reached Nanpura Makkai Pul Circle in Surat, police reportedly attempted to stop the crowd due to a lack of permission. As the protestors grew angry, police resorted to tear gas shells, lathi-charge, and ultimately opened fire. Some protestors, including Congress councillor Aslam Cyclewala, were detained by the police.

We were also able to geolocate the location of the video on Google Maps and confirm that it was from the Makkai Pul Circle in Surat’s Nanpura. A comparison between the viral video and Google Street View of the same place can be seen below.

It is hence clear that the video in question is old and from Surat. It has nothing to do with the recent violence in Haryana.