In April, Murshidabad district in West Bengal witnessed significant communal unrest following protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The legislation, which introduced changes to the administration of Waqf properties, was perceived by many in the Muslim community as infringing upon religious rights.
In the above context, a video is being widely shared on social media in which people are seen holding a rally on the road.
The viral video is shared with a caption claiming that it shows the Bajrang Dal coming to West Bengal to support Hindus in Murshidabad.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “Friends, witness the strength of us Hindus. At midnight, the lions of our Bajrang Dal. Came to help our Hindus in West Bengal.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The video is old and is from Maharashtra.
On a Google reverse image search, we found the same video shared by an Instagram user on February 17, 2025.
We found that the Instagram video had a watermark that read sumit_suryawanshi_5005 .
Taking a hint, we searched with sumit_suryawanshi_5005 on Google, it led us to an Instagram account with the same name. We further found that the account shared a video that had multiple clips of a rally, including the clip that is viral. The video clips were shared with hashtags such as #65km, #Sanglikar.
We further searched with hashtags and found a report published by The Times of India on February 19, 2025. The report stated that following the Mayakka Devi Yatra in Karnataka, over 200 motorcyclists returning to Sangli created disturbances by honking and cheering loudly during the early morning hours. Despite police warnings at Miraj, the bikers continued their disruptive behaviour upon entering Sangli city. To restore order, police resorted to a lathi charge, resulting in minor injuries to approximately 45 individuals. Many participants abandoned their vehicles and were later detained and released with warnings. The incident, captured on video, quickly went viral, sparking widespread discussions on social media.
We further found that the incident was also reported by a website, Saam TV, on February 18, 2025. The report stated that following the end of the Mayakka Devi Yatra, police in Sangli conducted a lathi charge on a group of youths from Sanglawadi who were causing disturbances. The youths were reportedly making loud slogans and behaving unruly while riding motorcycles. The police intervened to restore order, and videos of the incident have since gone viral.
According to a blog, Mayakka Devi Yatra is annually organised at Chinchali in the month of Magh. It is an important festival of the famous Mayakka Devi Temple at Chinchali in Karnataka. This festival, centred around the worship of Mayakka Devi, is celebrated with immense enthusiasm and fervour in rural Karnataka, as well as in the bordering regions of South Maharashtra.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.
