A viral video claiming a Muslim man was lynched inside a library by Hindutva men in Rajasthan for refusing to celebrate Holi is false.
BOOM found that the victim a 25-year-old youth, Hansraj Meena is from the tribal community and the accused are also from the same community. The communal narrative in the video is false.
The video shows three individuals attacking a youngster inside a library. It is being shared with the caption, "In Rajasthan, a Muslim man was beaten to death by Hindus inside a library for refusing to play Holi."
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Fact-check
BOOM conducted a reverse image search on key frames from the viral video, and found a news report by Dainik Bhaskar dated March 14, 2025, which also featured the same video footage.
According to the report, on the afternoon of March 12, a fight broke out among students over playing with colours at a public library in Ralwas village, Dausa district, Rajasthan.
During the dispute, 25-year-old Hansraj Meena refused to participate in the colour festivities, which led to three students—Ashok, Bablu, and Kaluram—assaulting him.
Meena, who lost consciousness from the beating, was taken to the government hospital in Lalsot, where doctors later declared him dead.
ASP Dinesh Aggarwal from Lalsot provided details to Indian Express, confirming that the altercation occurred around 4 pm on March 12, resulting in Meena suffering a head injury, which led to his death. The attackers were identified as Ashok, Kalu, and Bablu, as shown in the CCTV footage.
Rajasthan police deny communal narrative
BOOM also reached out to Ramgarh Pachwara SHO Ramsharan Gurjar who denied the communal claim.
"On March 12, a fight broke out between boys of the Meena community in Ralwas village over applying colour. Nobody from any other community was involved in this incident. The deceased and the accused belong to the Meena community. So far, one accused Bablu has been arrested in this case, the search for the other two accused is on," Gurjar told BOOM.