A video of a group pelting stones and destroying loudspeakers and lights attached to a truck at an idol immersion procession in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur has been shared with a false communal claim that it shows an incident where Hindus were attacked during a Durga Puja immersion procession.
BOOM found that there is no communal angle to the incident; the video shows a clash between two Durga puja committees in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur over an argument about who would go ahead and immerse the idol first.
The viral video shows visuals of a group of people pelting stones at light fixtures and loudspeakers placed on a truck queued in a procession. Some people can also be seen trying to shatter the windscreen of a truck by hurling stones and hitting it with sticks.
The caption with the video translates to, "How long will a Hindu get beaten for celebrating their festival in their own country? For the first time in the history of Bilaspur such cruelty... Maa Durga was going for immersion from Bilaspur's Sadar Bazar road. Attack on the Hindus, Maa Durga idol with swords, sticks, rods. Stone pelting on Hindus..."
(Original Text in Hindi: अपने ही देश में अपने तीज- त्यौहार मनाने पर कब तक पिटेगा हिंदू ? बिलासपुर की इतिहास में पहली बार इस तरह क्रूरता .. बिलासपुर सदर बाजार की सड़क से माँ दुर्गा विषर्जन करने जा रहे हिन्दुओ पर तलवार लाठी डंडे रॉड से हमला माँ दुर्गा के मूर्ति पर हमला हिन्दुओ पर पत्थरबाजी ...)
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Fact Check
BOOM performed a keyword search for "Bilaspur Durga Procession Clash" taking a cue from the caption and found wire agency Asian News International's (ANI) news report carrying a frame from the viral video published on October 7, 2022.
The report states, "The clash between two groups of the Durga Pandal committees- part of the tableaus going to perform 'Durga Visarjan'- started in the area of Karuna Chowk and Sadar Bazar over a DJ Vehicle. The brawl between the groups elevated and the two groups started stone-pelting, leading to a ruckus in the street. The accused used sticks and rods against each other, leaving many people injured. The car and Durga's idol were also vandalized by miscreants."
ANI also tweeted the same video from its official twitter handle on October 7, 2022 reporting the same.
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Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rajendra Jaiswal, speaking to ANI about the incident, said, "Scuffle broke out between members of two Durga puja committees over which party would go for immersion first. Suspects are in police custody and interrogation is going on. Action will be taken against the accused."
Additionally, BOOM reached out to Rajendra Jaiswal to know if there was a communal angle in the incident. Jaiswal told BOOM, "There is no communal angle to the incident. Both the groups belong to the Hindu community. They were from different puja committees fighting over going first in the procession. We have detained 17 people related to the incident. All of them are Hindus."