The 36-day Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar has officially ended after the Centre accepted key demands, including the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The agitation, led by Abhijeet Dipke and joined by Sonam Wangchuk, focused on alleged exam irregularities and education reforms before being called off on July 25.
In the above context, a video is widely being shared on social media in which a man in Muslim attire is trying to set fire to a car’s fuel tank. The footage shows a vandalised black Mahindra Thar surrounded by an angry mob and a police officer trying to stop the man
The video has been widely shared with captions alleging CJP supporters were involved in arson during the protest.
A social media user shared the video with a sarcastic caption that reads, “Meet a young CJP protester. He’s a 29-year-old NEET student who came to protest. After being hit by a Delhi Police man, he decided to take revenge. He did this and another policeman who was standing near there suffered severe injuries. Now this ’29-year-old NEET student’ finally got his justice. All of this happened because of Abhijeet Dipke. Thanks for your service.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video shows an angry mob attempting to set fire to a vehicle following a road accident in Bihar.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by CNN News 18 on July 18. The video was shared with a caption that reads, “Viral video shows crowd trying to set a car on fire after an accident in Bihar.”
The incident was also reported by Dainik Bhaskar.
According to the report, the incident took place in Gaya, Bihar, on July 16, when a Mahindra Thar collided with a motorcycle and an auto-rickshaw. Two young men riding the motorcycle were seriously injured. The report also quoted an eyewitness who said that the vehicle had a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sticker on its front. Locals claimed that a woman was driving the car and was allowed to leave in the presence of police. However, police did not officially confirm these allegations or the vehicle’s political affiliation. City SDPO Saroj Kumar confirmed that two people were injured in the road accident and were undergoing treatment at a hospital.
Using this information, we searched with relevant keywords and found that the incident was also reported by First Bihar on July 16.
According to the report, a Mahindra Thar collided with a Toto (e-rickshaw) near Jay Prakash Jharna in Bihar's Gaya, injuring two people. The crash sparked public outrage, with an angry crowd vandalising the SUV, which reportedly displayed a BJP sticker. Police reached the spot, brought the situation under control, and launched an investigation into the incident.
The viral video is being shared in the context of the Cockroach Janata Party’s Parliament march on July 20, which saw violent clashes between protesters and police in Delhi. However, the footage predates that event by four days and has no connection to it. Therefore, we conclude that the viral claim is false.
