Videos Of Alcohol Served At Religious Fair In Punjab Falsely Linked To Farmers' Protest

A set of two videos from a religious fair in Ludhiana district, Punjab is being shared with a false claim that it shows alcohol being distributed to farmers at the ongoing protests.

In the first video, a group of youngsters can be seen pouring from alcohol bottles into a blue drum and recording the same on their phones. In the second video, we can see people with glasses as the liquid from the drum is served to them.

However, BOOM was able to establish that both the viral videos are from the Baba Rodu Shah fair in Ludhiana district, Punjab and not from the Kisan Mahapanchayat or the farmers' protest as being falsely claimed. We were also able to determine that the youngsters seen in the viral video were present at the religious fair, comparing it with other videos from the event.

The videos are being shared with the caption, "Truth about #Kisaan Mahapanchayat. Heisenberg uncertainty has more certainly than these frauds.."

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The same set of videos was also shared by Twitter user Rishi Bagree. BOOM has previously debunked fake claims made by Bagree on Twitter.

Also Read: Old Images Of Kisan Panchayat Linked To Muzaffarnagar Mahapanchayat

FACT-CHECK

BOOM found that both the videos are not from the ongoing farmers' protest but from a religious fair at Kaunke Kalan village in Ludhiana, Punjab, where liquor is offered to Baba Rodu Shah and distributed by devotees.

Video 2: Alcohol being distributed to people standing with glasses in their hands

We came across a report by independent journalist Sandeep Singh who visited the Baba Rodu Shah dargah in Kaunke Kalan village and spoke to locals who confirmed that the video was recorded in the village on September 6, during the religious fair where devotees of Baba Rodu Shah gather at the dargah.

In Singh's story, we can see the same truck parked near the dargah as seen in the viral video and the same gate seen in the viral video in the background where people had gathered.

BOOM reached out to Singh who told us that he had spoken to locals who confirmed to him that the said video is from religious fair. The locals further added that the fair held every year since decades in the village and devotees of Baba Rodu Shah regularly participate in it.

On comparing shots in the background from the ground report and the viral video we can see that both match.

Video 1: Youngsters pouring from alcohol bottles into a blue drum

Taking a cue that the above video is from Kaunke Kalan village, we ran a search with Punjabi keywords like 'Baba Rod Shah, Kaunke Kalan+alcohol+ daru' on Facebook and YouTube.

The results showed us similar videos from the Baba Rodu Shah fair, where we can see alcohol being poured from bottles into a blue drum (from 2 seconds, and at 2.32 minutes timestamp).

The caption of the video when translated reads, "Mela Baba Rodu Sah Ji village Kaunke Kalan where liquor langar is set up"

We also found a video post by the Facebook page Jan Shakti News Punjab on videos from the Baba Rodu Shah fair are being circulated falsely claiming they are from the farmers' protest, under which in the comments section, a user had posted other videos from the fair, where we can hear the same song and spot the same people as in the viral video where liquor is being poured in the drum.

We can hear the same Punjabi song playing in the background as in the viral video and can see a boy at the side stall at the fair, who is in both the videos. This shows that both videos are from the same location.

The same purple coloured tents can be seen and at the 8-second timestamp, a boy wearing a white colour t-shirt is seen at the stall, the same boy can be seen in the viral video in the background. We can also see one of the youngsters pouring alcohol bottles in the drum present in the video at the 18 seconds timestamp.

At the 18 seconds timestamp, we can spot see one of the youngsters who's wearing an orange kurta in the viral video also present there.

A comparison below shows also shows the same stalls as in the viral video.

In another video posted in the comments, we saw another stall, on which four mobile numbers were displayed above on the stall banner. BOOM contacted two of the numbers given.

Jagroop Singh, one whose number is given on the banner, stated that his stall was set up in Kaunke Kalan village in Ludhiana during the Baba Shah Rodu fair on September 6, 2021.

Singh told BOOM that he was at the fair and the viral video is from the stall setup at their side. "The viral video is from the Baba Rodhu Shah fair in Kaunke Kalan, the people seen in that video were at the side stall setup next to us. I do not know them personally, but they were present at the next stall," Singh told BOOM. When asked if it was connected to the farmers' protest in Delhi, Singh refused and said, "This is not from farmers' protest in Delhi."

We also found another YouTube video, titled, "Mela Baba Rodu ji mela Kaunke kalan Jagraon (Ldh)" uploaded on September 9, 2021. In the video, we can see the same youngster who's wearing an orange kurta in the viral video also present.

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