A screenshot of an Aaj Tak news report with a misleading headline of a blast incident from Hyderabad is viral on social media. The headline of the Hindi report translates to 'Hyderabad: Chemical blast in Gowliguda Gol Masjid, 2 grievously injured'.
BOOM spoke to the local police and found that a suspected chemical blast took place in a drain in Afzalgunj, Hyderabad on June 12, and not in a mosque as claimed by the news report. The explosion claimed the life of a man and left one injured. While Aaj Tak updated its Hindi report with a different headline, its Bangla report continued to carry the misleading headline.
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The screenshot of the Aaj Tak report is being shared by several social media users giving it a communal twist.
(Hindi headline: हैदराबाद: गौलीगुडा गोल मस्जिद में केमिकल ब्लास्ट, 2 लोग गंभीर रूप से घायल)
A Hindi caption with a viral Facebook post sharing the screenshot translates to 'Successfully tested'.
(Hindi: सफल परीक्षण किया गया)
Click here to view the post. Other posts sharing the screenshot with similar communal claims can be seen here, here, here and here.
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The incident was also reported with misleading headline by news portals including InKhabar and verified YouTube channel of 10TV.
BOOM also received a screenshot on our helpline number requesting to verify it.
Fact Check
BOOM did a keyword search with 'Chemical Blast Gowliguda' and found several news reports on the incident.
According to a report published in The News Minute on June 12, 2022, the incident took place in Gowliguda under the jurisdiction of Afzalgunj police station in Hyderabad. The report further states that the blast, which claimed one life, occurred when two persons 'were allegedly dumping chemicals in a manhole'.
The report mentions the name of the deceased as Bharath Battad and the injured has been named as Gopal Battad, father of the deceased.
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According to a New Indian Express report, Bharath Battad's father ran a kirana shop where he used to sell resin used for binding plastic, fibre material and fixing floor tiles. The incident took place when the father-son duo was cleaning a resin container.
"Bharath's father went to switch off the water supply as Bharat continued cleaning and dumping the chemical in a manhole near their house. That is when the explosion took place killing Bharat on the spot," the report stated.
The report also mentioned that Venugopal and a neighbour received minor injuries in the incident. The explosion left a huge crater on the road, completely blowing off the manhole. The incident triggered panic in the locality.
BOOM also contacted the Station House Officer of Afzalgunj Police Station Ravinder Reddy. Speaking to BOOM, Reddy said that the news about a blast in the mosque is completely false.
"A father-son duo used to run a chemical shop here. Since the chemical was outdated, it had solidified and reacted with water when they were cleaning a can and the blast occurred killing the son on the spot," Reddy told BOOM.
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