A video of a young boy bitterly crying for his father after he had got separated from the latter in the crowd in Nilakkal, Kerala during the Sabarimala pilgrimage is being shared on social media with the false and communal spin that the child was detained by Kerala Police in a police van.
BOOM spoke to Nilakkal Police, Kerala who rubbished the viral claim stating that the boy got lost in the crowd and was crying as he got separated from his father. Nilakkal Police further stated that he was immediately reunited with his father, and that the child was sitting in a state transport bus and not a police van.
The Kerala government has been facing flack with complaints of shortage of amenities and mismanagement of queues that have marred the Mandalam pilgrimage to Sabarimala. The pilgrimage, which began on November 17, 2023 is set to conclude on December 27, 2023. A 10-year-old girl died of breathing-related issues while heading to Sabarimala for the darshan of Lord Ayyappan on December 10, 2023 according to The Times Of India. In order to accommodate the heavy rush of pilgrims, the state government has extended the time of darshan by one hour.
The 38 seconds video was posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) by the handle Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) with the caption, "Condition of Hindus in Kerala. They didn't even spare a kid.. #sabrimala". BOOM has previously debunked misinformation posted by this account.
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The same video was also posted by Rishi Bagree with the caption, "Plight of Hindus in Kerala where the govt authorities cracked down on Devotees.They didn’t even spare children." BOOM has previously debunked misinformation shared by Bagree on social media.
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Several other verified X handles also posted the same video with the misleading claim including Rashmi Samant.
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM reached out to Kerala Police who dismissed the viral claim stating that the boy was not detained by the state police in a police van as being claimed on social media. We also watched the original video which shows the boy getting reunited with his father at the end and him sitting in a bus.
Taking a hint from the viral video where we can see the logo of Asianet News - a Malayalam news outlet, we found a news report on the video published by Asianet News with the headline, "Sabarimala rush: Heart-wrenching video of crying child seeking help to find his father emerges"
The report states that the video had gone viral where a was child crying who had lost his way in Sabarimala, it states that the footage shows the child searching for his father, who was lost in the crowd at Nilakkal, Kerala. The child is seen screaming in front of the police with folded hands and later on waves his hands when he sees his father.
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We also found a tweet by Asianet on X with the same 27 seconds video, the caption reads, "Sabarimala rush: Heart-wrenching video of crying child seeking help to find his father emerges; WATCH"
Nowhere in the report does it mention that the child was detained by the Kerala Police as being claimed on social media. Additionally, on viewing the footage we can see that the child is sitting in a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus and not a police van as claimed by social media posts. The logo of KSRTC is visible in the viral video.
"Boy was not detained by police": Nilakkal Police
BOOM then reached out to Nilakkal Police, Kerala, under whose jurisdiction the incident occurred. Nilakkal Police Sub-inspector Saisenan confirmed to BOOM that the incident seen in the viral video is not related to any police action on Sabarimala devotees as being claimed. SI Saisenan stated that the boy was crying after being separated from his father in the crowd and was soon reunited with his father with the help of the police.
"The boy got scared as he thought his father went missing but he was nearby. Soon the father came back and they both left the spot," SI Saisenan told BOOM. Nilakkal Police also confirmed to BOOM that the boy was seated in a KSRTC bus for Sabarimala devotees and not inside a police van.