Fact Check: Muslim youth pelt stones at Ganesh idol in Karnataka? There is no communal angle in the incident
A video allegedly showing two men seemingly pelting stones at a Ganesh idol in Raichur, Karnataka, is going viral on social media.
By K Sherly Sharon
Claim:The video shows two men from the Muslim community pelting stones at a Ganesh idol in Raichur.
Fact:The claim is false. The video shows two Hindu men throwing stones at other Hindu men who had organized a Ganesh idol immersion procession. There is no communal angle in the incident.
Hyderabad: A video allegedly showing two men pelting stones at a Ganesh idol is being widely shared on social media with claims that the stone pelters belonged to the Muslim community and that the incident took place in Congress-ruled Karnataka.
Sharing the video on X, a user wrote, “YET ANOTHER HIDNU FESTIVAL TARGETED… Stone pelting by peacefuls on Ganpati Murti and Hindus during #GaneshVisarjan in #Hassan of Congress ruled #Karnataka.Not a single Hindu festival pass by which is not targeted by jihadis in Hindu majority Bharat”. (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The stone pelting was carried out by men belonging to the Hindu community, not the Muslim community.The viral video shows two men standing on the terrace of a house with Sri Sai Tattoo Studio painted on it. Using Google Maps, we traced the exact location to Patla Bazar in Raichur, Karnataka.
Taking this clue we did a keyword search and found a report published by Vartha Bharati on September 1. The title reads ‘Raichur | Fight between two groups during Ganesh immersion’.
The report stated that on August 31, during the Ganesh idol immersion procession on Gadwal Road of Raichur city, a fight broke out between two groups led by BJP leaders U. Narasa Reddy and Daddy Veeresha.
When the police arrived at the incident location, the miscreants threw kerosene powder and pelted stones at the PSI of Market Yard Police Station.
Ee Dina published a report on the same day, titled ‘Raichur | Clashes between groups during Ganesh immersion’. The report also stated that the fight between the groups of BJP leaders U. Narasareddy and Daddy Veeresha broke out during the Ganesh idol immersion procession.
NewsMeter spoke to Sadar Bazar police regarding the viral video. The police said, ''This is not a Hindu-Muslim fight. The incident took place between Hindu youths due to an old enmity. Stones were not thrown at the Ganesh idol. Stones were thrown at Vinay and Ganesh, who were holding a Ganesh Visarjan rally. The stone throwers were Prashant and Praveen. This incident took place on Ganganivas Road.''
Thus, the video shows two Hindu men pelting stones at another group of Hindu men. There is no communal angle to the incident.
Therefore NewsMeter concludes that the viral claims are false.
