A video showing a large crowd waving guns and firing into the air has gone viral on social media, with users claiming it depicts upper-caste communities in Bihar launching protests after the June 17 encounter of Bharat Bhushan Tiwari. The footage carries a text overlay that reads: “Bharat Tiwari encounter ke khilaf savarna samaj ka barood ki Holi Bihar, naya Bihar” (Gunpowder Holi of upper-caste society against the Bharat Tiwari encounter, new Bihar).

Social media users are circulating the video claiming that members of the upper-caste community have opened a front against police following the Bharat Tiwari encounter in Bhojpur, Bihar.

A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “After Bharat Tiwari’s encounter, people in Bihar launched a protest against the police” (Translated from Hindi)

SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video is old and from Rajasthan, not Bihar, and has no connection to the Bharat Tiwari encounter.

On a Google reverse image search, we found an Instagram account, ‘hardik_sen’, which uploaded the footage on March 16, 2025, with hashtags related to Menar, Udaipur, and Holi. Another Instagram account, ‘udaipurcityoflakes’, posted the same video on March 5, 2025, identifying it as the ‘Barood ki Holi’ (Gunpowder Holi) of Mewar (Udaipur, Rajasthan).

We further found a YouTube video uploaded on March 16, 2025, showing scenes from the Menar village Holi celebrations that closely matched the viral footage. In both videos, we can see the same tree decorated with lights. Moreover, we can see the same building located on the right side of the tree. Thus, suggesting they are both from the same location.

The About Us section of this channel suggests that it is based on travel vlogging and daily life vlogs.

Taking a hint, we searched with relevant keywords and found that the incident was also reported by Dainik Bhaskar four months ago.

According to the report, Menar village in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district celebrated its 451-year-old Barood Ki Holi (Gunpowder Holi) tradition, commemorating a historic victory over Mughal forces. Instead of colours, villagers used gunpowder, cannons, swords, and traditional firearms during the Jamra Beej festival. The centuries-old celebration drew thousands of visitors and showcased Mewar's martial heritage and cultural legacy.

Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.