A set of unrelated images of torched vehicles and shops are being shared with misleading claims linking them to the violence that have taken place in Tripura.
The photo with the false claim is viral as parts of North Tripura witnessed violence after reports that a mosque was allegedly vandalised, shops and houses attacked in the Panisagar sub-division during a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) rally on October 26, 2021. Panisagar Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Soubhik Dey speaking to the Indian Express, said a VHP protest rally of around 3,500 people was organised in Panisagar.
"A section of VHP activists at the rally ransacked a mosque in the Chamtilla area. Later, three houses and three shops were ransacked and two shops set on fire in the Rowa Bazar area, around 800 yards away from the first incident," the official said.
With the situation turning volatile, Tripura Police has appealed to all communities to maintain peace and not share fake news. The state has imposed section 144 in sensitive areas and security forces have been deployed.
The viral Facebook post shows a set of six different images of vehicles, bike, shops set ablaze and some even showing people holding copies of Qurans burnt during the violence.
The caption with the post in Hindi translates to, "In Tripura, Muslims were sabotaged and killed, shops were looted, then set on fire. BJP, which is with everyone, developing everyone, has not taken any action against Bajrang Dal and Sangh people yet! The Muslims there are more terror, the children are hungry, the Quran is being burnt by going to our mosque!"
Click here to see the facebook post.
Original Texts in Hindi: त्रिपुरा में मुसलामानों के घरों में घुसकर तोड़फोड़ किए और मारे गए दुकाने लूटी गई फ़िर आग लगा दिया गया सबका साथ सबका विकास करने वाली भाजपा अभी तक बजरंग दल और संघ के लोगों पर कोई कार्रवाई नहीं की है! वहा के मुसलमान खौफ़ जदा है बच्चे भूखे है हमारी मस्जिद में जाकर कुरान पाक को जलाया जा रहा है!" (Sic)
Also Read: Old Video Falsely Shared As Tripura Police Leading Rioters Chanting 'Jai Shri Ram'
Fact Check
BOOM found two images are recent and from the reports of violence in Tripura, while the other four are not recent and some not even from the state of Tripura.
These above two images have been reported by BBC News and Times of India on October 28, 2021 as recent violence in North Tripura.
Image 1
The image of torched vehicles with patrolling police personnel on the street is from 2019 when clashes broke out between tribals and Bengali speaking communities in Agartala.
The same photo was published in an article by The Indian Express on November 13, 2019. According to the report, at least 20 people were injured and 15 vehicles torched in Agartala in ethnic clashes between tribals and Bengalis in 2019 when voting was underway in the by-election for the Simna-Tamakari seat, the state's lone tribal autonomous body.
Image 2
The image of two men holding partially burnt Quran copies in their hands can be traced to June 2021. BOOM found that the viral photo was taken after a fire broke out at a Rohingya camp in Delhi in June 2021.
BOOM has earlier debunked the image here.
Also Read: Photo Of Qurans Burnt In Fire At Delhi Rohingya Camp Viral As Tripura
Image 3
The image of steel utensils scorched and lying by the side of a street was tweeted by verified handle of the Communist Party of India (CPIM) on March 6, 2018. The image though from Tripura is old and the CPI (M) had in 2018 accused the Bharatiya Janta Party and their poll ally IPFT for resorting to post poll violence.
Read India Today's report on it here.
Image 4
The image of the bike set on fire is from the 2016 clashes that broke out in Agartala between a section of the tribal population and non-tribals.
The same image can be seen in this report by The Indian Express published on August 30, 2016. The report states that on August 23, violence broke out in parts of Tripura's capital Agartala after clashes.
The current incidents of violence in Tripura have resulted in fake posts and misleading narratives being shared on social media. Read BOOM's fact checks here