A video showing two men beating a minor in Haryana is circulating with false claims that the latter, a Dalit, was beaten for showering flowers on a Brahmin man during a function related to Ayodhya's Ram Mandir.
BOOM found the video is from a 'Geeta Jayanti' programme held at a government school in Haryana on December 22, 2023. The minor boy was thrashed by two teachers for throwing flowers at girls.
The video is circulating in the backdrop of the inauguration of the Ayodhya Ram temple that will be held on January 22, 2024. According to reports, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 4000 saints, religious leaders along with 2500 important dignitaries for the inauguration ceremony.
An X (formerly Twitter) user shared the video with the caption, "During an Ayodhya Ram Mandir function, a Dalit boy Vishnu was beaten by the organisers. Who told you to celebrate? The work of a Dalit is to riot and fight for maintaining the Hindu Brahmin power...."
Original Text in Hindi (अयोध्या में राम मंदिर समारोह के दौरान फूल फेंकने पर दलित लड़के विष्णु को आयोजकों ने पीटा, भाई आपको किस ने कहा था वहां सेलिब्रेट करो दलित का काम बस दंगा करना हिंदू ब्राह्मण के राज के लिए लड़ना है राम मंदिर के दान पुन का और वहां पुजारी बनने का हक पोंगा पंडित का है)
The video is also circulating on Facebook with similar claims.
Fact Check
BOOM ran a reverse image search on the keyframes of the video and found a report by Dainik Bhaskar from December 23, 2023, featuring screengrabs from the viral video. According to this report, the video is from a Geeta Jayanti programme held at Faridabad's Gaunchi Senior Secondary Government School. The report mentions that the incident occurred on December 22, 2023, when two teachers beat up a student for reportedly throwing flowers at girls.
Hindustan Samachar also reported on this incident on December 2 , 2023. The viral video is also present in a report by News24.
Additionally, Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya Police denied the news on its official X handle, mentioning it as false. The post also contains a link to a media report that mentions the incident occurred at a school in Haryana.
According to Dainik Bhaskar, the police have registered a case against both the school teachers related to this incident.