Fact Check: Kerala cops use bombs against Waqf Act protesters; lives lost? No, find the facts here

A video showing one such violent protest and police charging against the protestors is going viral on social media. The video is being circulated with the claim that the police used bombs in the protest, killing many Muslims.

In the video, we can see police barricades and water cannons being used against the protestors. We can see a police officer, with his back to the camera, behind the barricades, working on an object in his hands before throwing it into the crowd. This is followed by the sound of a blast. The officer does the action two more times, and we can see that it is a green and white canister that he throws into the protestors.

The text on the video reads, “Look at this, police throwing bombs at Muslims. Today, truth has lost and lies have won.” Sharing the video on Instagram, a user wrote, “Police threw bombs at Muslims and many lost their lives.” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video was shot at a protest against the Waqf Act near the Calicut Airport in Kerala on April 9, 2025. However, the police did not use bombs against the protestors, and there are no reports of any loss of life at the site.

We did not find any news reports or credible social media posts regarding police using bombs against Muslims and other protestors at the Waqf Act protests.

Using a reverse image search, we found the viral video uploaded to Instagram by a user named ‘tv14bharat’ on April 9, 2025. The text on the video reads, “Massive protests in Kerala against Waqf Act. Calicut airport was blocked by Muslims.” (Translated from Hindi)

The video was uploaded with the caption, “Protests begin against #waqfamendmentbill2024.” An archived version of the post can be found here.

Using keyword searches, we found the viral video uploaded to the YouTube channel of an Urdu news organisation, Milli Digest. The video was uploaded on April 12, 2025, with the caption, “Calicut Airport blocked and Police crackdown against protestors | Waqf Amendment Act #dailynews.”

Following this lead, we found a report published by The Print on April 9, 2025, about a Waqf Act protest at the Calicut Airport, also known as the Karipur International Airport. The report was titled, ‘Kerala: Lathicharge during protest against Waqf Bill near Karipur airport.’

The report stated that a march against the Waqf Act was organised by activists of the Solidarity Youth Movement and the Students Islamic Organisation (SIO), both affiliated with Jamaat-e-Islami. “Tension prevailed near Karipur International Airport here for a while on Wednesday after a protest march by an Islamist outfit against the Waqf Bill turned violent,” stated the report.

A Times of India report on the protest, titled ‘Waqf Bill: Police use force to remove protesters,’ was published on April 10, 2025. TOI wrote that the police resorted to lathicharge, tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters.

The Observer Post report of the protest, titled ‘Kerala Police Use Force to Disperse Waqf Act Protestors at Calicut Airport; Dozens Injured, Six Arrested,’ stated that the police used stun grenades, tear gas and water cannons against the protesters, which included students, leaving nearly 25 activists injured.

We also found a report published by Muslim Mirror on April 9, 2025, stating that lathicharge, tear gas and water cannons were used to disperse the protesters attempting to block the road leading to Calicut International Airport. A Facebook video of the protest was linked in the report. The video was uploaded with the caption, “Protest against #WaqfBill is going on in Kerala. Protestors blocked the Airport.” We see smoke emerging after an object, thrown by police, hits the ground.

Responding to the police action at the protest, the president of Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) shared his statement in a Facebook post, dated April 9, 2025: “We strongly condemn the brutal lathicharge and the use of tear gas and water cannons on protestors opposing the Waqf Amendment Act, a protest organised by SIO and Solidarity Youth Movement Kerala.”

However, none of these reports or social media posts mentioned the use of explosives by the police during the protest at the Calicut Airport.

What did the police throw into the protestors in the video?

We continued our search for more information to find out what the police official in the video threw into the crowd.

We contacted the SHO of Kondotty Police Station regarding the police action toward the protestors. He informed NewsMeter that about 3,000 people were gathered in protest of the Waqf Act near Calicut Airport on April 9. When asked about the viral claim regarding bombs being used by police officers, the SHO responded that bombs were not used, but tear gas was used to disperse the crowd.

We found an Instagram video report about the protest shared by Maktoob Media, dated April 10, 2025.

The caption read, “Hundreds of people blocked the road to Calicut International Airport in Kerala on 9 April in a powerful demonstration against the Waqf Amendment Act. Police responded with a lathi charge, tear gas, and water cannons, leaving over 25 protesters injured in the violence.”

The video in the report provided a much closer look at what the police were handling before throwing it into the crowd.

In the report, a police officer can be seen supposedly opening the top of a white and green coloured canister before throwing it over the barricades, following which there was a bright flash of light and the sound of a blast. The video report also stated that Maktoob journalists covering the protest were also injured in the incident.

Screenshots of keyframes from the Maktoob Media Instagram are given below.

Shakeeb, a Maktoob Media journalist injured at the incident, told NewsMeter and also confirmed that no bombs were used by the police on the protestors. “The police have not used bombs at the incident. There was no loss of life, but a lot of people were injured. I was injured in the lathicharge.”

Shakeeb shared images of the white and green object thrown by the police into the crowd on the day of the protest. The text on the object read ‘Stun Grenade’. The use of stun grenades was also mentioned in the Observer Post report.

A stun grenade is a non-fragmentation grenade which explodes with a resounding bang and blinding flash, causing temporary stunning effects. Barricades, water cannons, stun grenades, and tear gas, along with lathicharge, are usual actions used by the police to disperse crowds during protests, hartals, marches and political meetings.

Another journalist, who was present at the incident, confirmed that the police used stun grenades and tear gas to disperse the protesters. The journalist, who did not wish to be named, said that about 10 people were admitted to a hospital; however, none with severe injuries.

Therefore, NewsMeter found that the viral claim is false. The police did not use bombs against Muslims protesting near the Calicut Airport on April 9, 2025. No loss of life was reported.