Fact Check: Hindus attacked Muslims in Odisha? No, video shows hostel students with fireworks on Diwali
A video of Odisha medical college students launching fireworks at each other’s hostels during Diwali is being falsely shared as a Hindu-Muslim attack.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 4 Nov 2024 1:42 PM GMT
Claim: The video shows Hindus in Odisha retaliating with fireworks after Muslims attacked them during Diwali celebrations.
Fact: The claim is false. The video shows two groups of students at VIMSAR Medical College in Burla, Odisha, firing rockets at each other’s hostels.
Hyderabad: A video circulating on social media shows a man in a helmet launching fireworks toward a building, while people around cheer him on. Those sharing the video claim that it shows Hindus in Odisha retaliating after Muslims allegedly attacked them during Diwali celebrations.
An X user shared the video and wrote, “Muslims attacked Hindus celebrating Diwali. But Odia Hindus retaliated like this. Nice to see this! Terminator mode activated.” (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. There is no communal angle to the incident.
While reviewing the comments on the X post, we found several users rejecting the claim, stating the video only shows hostel boys playing with fireworks. (Archive)
Using this clue, we conducted a keyword search and found a screenshot of the video in a report by Odisha TV published on November 1 titled ‘This is why men die early: Hostel boys launch skyrockets at each other on Diwali.’
According to the channel, the video, filmed at VIMSAR Medical College in Burla, Odisha, shows two groups of students firing rockets at each other’s hostel buildings.
We also found a video report on the incident showing the same visuals published by the verified YouTube channel of Odisha TV on November 2. The channel reiterated that the video shows VIMSAR students launching skyrockets at the hostel in the college.
Another Odisha-based media outlet, Kanak News, published a video report on the incident on November 2, confirming that the video shows VIMSAR students at the boys’ hostel launching fireworks at each other during Diwali. None of the reports mentioned any communal angle to the incident.
Hence, we conclude that the claim is false. The video does not show Hindus retaliating against Muslims using fireworks.
