Fact Check: Kumbh Mela devotees throw slippers at security personnel? No, video shows chaos at the Puhspa 2 trailer launch in Patna

Hyderabad: A video circulating on social media shows security personnel in paramilitary uniform trying to control a massive crowd while people throw slippers at them. The video is being shared with the claim that it shows chaos at the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

Giving communal colour to the video, an X user shared it with the caption, “In the Kumbh Mela, nationalist and Sanatani people threw slippers at army personnel! If they had been Muslims, this would have been the top news on all government media channels today. But perhaps such actions are allowed for people of this religion.” (Translated from Hindi)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video shows a rowdy crowd at the trailer launch of the movie ‘Pushpa 2’ in Patna on November 17, 2024.

A reverse image search led us to an extended version of the video, uploaded on YouTube on January 3, 2025. It is the same video as similarities include the same person in the green-brown paramilitary fatigue and a hat climbing on top of the metal barricade, observing the crowd and going to his left, off-camera, but can be seen in the extended video.

The text on the video claims to show a BPSC protest in Patna. However, the extended video also showed a red flag with a yellow handprint upside down tied to the metal barricade. In the viral clip and the extended video, the same flag can be seen being waved around in the crowd at a distance.

We found that these red flags match the Pushpa 2 promotional flags advertising the film’s release on December 5, 2024.

The flag and its design can be seen in clear view in an Instagram post, dated November 17. The post mentioned the venue of the film’s trailer launch as Gandhi Maidan in Patna, Bihar.'

We also found the video posted by another Instagram account on November 17. The post stated that the video shows the trailer launch of Pushpa 2 at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, Bihar.

With these leads, we conducted keyword searches and found a video posted by Hindustan Times’ official X handle on November 17, 2024. The video featured the same red flags and showed security personnel attempting to control the crowd. The post stated that a massive gathering had assembled at Gandhi Maidan in Patna to catch a glimpse of Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna during the trailer launch event of ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule.’

On November 18, 2024, Brut India published a video report titled, “When the crowd caused chaos at Pushpa 2’s trailer launch event…” According to the report, police had to resort to a lathi charge to control the crowd at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan during the event. The video also showed security personnel climbing barricades to manage the crowd, similar to the visuals in the viral video.

According to reports by The Hindu and The Times of India on November 18, 2024, chaos erupted at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, where a massive crowd had gathered to catch a glimpse of actors Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna during the trailer launch event of Pushpa 2. The reports, featuring images of security personnel on barricades trying to control the crowd, stated that a section of attendees breached barricades and hurled shoes and slippers when they were prevented from getting closer to the stars.

Therefore, we conclude that the video does not depict chaos at the Kumbh Mela and is from the trailer launch event of Puspha 2 organised at Bihar’s Patna on November 17, 2024. The claim is false.