Viral image of shattered train windows is from Andhra, not Kerala

Hyderabad: Several social media users are sharing an image of shattered train windows claiming that it shows the Vande Bharat train in Kerala.

According to one Facebook user, the Vande Bharat train was attacked in Kerala’s Malappuram.

This comes after stones were pelted at the recently-launched Vande Bharat Express passing from Tirunavaya to Tirur in the Malappuram district of Kerala.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found the claim to be misleading.

On performing a simple reverse image search, we found the same images published by The News Minute in a report from 12 January 2023. The headline of the report reads “Stones pelted at Vande Bharat train in Vizag days before the inauguration” and states, “Two glass panes of the train were damaged in the incident which happened when the coach was going to the maintenance centre at Maripalem from the Vizag railway station.”

A keyword search led us to a video tweeted by the verified Twitter handle of ANI on 11 January 2023. The video contains similar visuals as the viral image.

The tweet reads, “Andhra Pradesh | Stones pelted on Vande Bharat train in Visakhapatnam which will be flagged off by PM Modi on Jan 19. Incident occurred during maintenance. Glass pane of a coach of Vande Bharat express was damaged near Kancharapalem, Visakhapatnam. Further probe underway: DRM.”