Several Left Front leaders in West Bengal recently shared a video claiming it shows Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers pelting stones during a protest in Kolkata on July 24 over alleged question paper leaks.
BOOM found that the video was recorded in Ranchi, Jharkhand, outside a BJP office during a Congress protest over the NEET paper leak and the demand for Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.
On July 24, supporters of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) joined several Left organisations in a protest against the BJP-led central government over the NEET question paper leak and to demand the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The protest turned violent in Kolkata's Esplanade area, where some journalists covering the demonstration were heckled. Kolkata Police arrested 16 people for their alleged involvement in the violence, all of whom were later granted bail by a city court.
The Claim
CPI(M) West Bengal State Secretary Md Salim, along with several others, shared the video claiming it shows BJP workers pelting stones at the rally held in Kolkata.
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What We Found: Video Is From Ranchi, Not Kolkata
1. Video Is Not From Kolkata: This reporter covered the July 24 rally from Sealdah to Esplanade and was able to confirm that the viral video does not show the July 24 protest in Kolkata. Although the demonstration saw moments of unrest, including clashes and the throwing of water bottles, the incident shown in the viral footage did not occur during the rally.
2. Incident Is From Jharkhand: We then extracted keyframes from the video and performed a reverse image search. The search led us to a post carrying the same video, which identified it as being from Ranchi, Jharkhand. The post stated that Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) state president Shashank was seen throwing tomatoes during a Congress-led gherao of the BJP office.
Taking a cue, we ran a related keyword search and found multiple news reports about the incident. On July 23, 2026, news agency IANS reported that eggs and tomatoes were thrown during a Congress protest over the NEET paper leak, the alleged lathi charge on students, and the demand for Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.
3. Reporters Verify the Incident on the Ground: We also found video reports of multiple reporters covering the protest in Jharkhand's Ranchi on July 23. News18 reporter Sanjay Kumar Sinha confirmed that he witnessed the incident firsthand around 12 pm on July 23. According to him, BJP workers in Ranchi climbed onto a fire brigade vehicle parked in front of the state BJP office during the protest.
Another video report by Prabhat Khabar from July 23 captures the incident live from the ground. In the footage, the reporter says the person seen atop the fire brigade vehicle is BJYM state president and is seen throwing tomatoes during the protest. The visuals appear from the 8:14-minute mark onward in the video report.