Fact Check: Viral video of stampede is not related to Hathras tragedy

On June 2, 2024, a large number of devotees of the religious leader Suraj Pal, popularly known as Bhole Baba, gathered for a Satsang in Hathras village. According to media reports, around 2,50,000 devotees gathered, with about 80,000 allowed to enter a field serving as the main venue for the prayer meeting. Chaos erupted when Bhole Baba got off the stage and left the tent to get into his car after the prayer meeting. Scores of people rushed out of the tent towards his car, trampling each other in a bid to touch his feet or the ground he had walked on, according to a police report filed afterwards. Many people were killed in the rush, suffocating to death. Some also fell into an adjacent mud field and were crushed there.

As per a report published in NDTV: “Thousands of people pressed into a small area and then people began falling like nine pins, getting crushed under the weight of the crowd. Post-mortem reports of some of the victims of the Hathras tragedy, in which 121 people were killed, have revealed that, just like in other stampedes, the deaths were largely caused by chest injuries and suffocation. The other causes of the death in the 21 post-mortems conducted so far have been found to be head injuries, shock and haemorrhage”.

After the incident, a few videos were shared on social media linking them to the Hathras tragedy.

In Clip 1, a huge crowd is seen gathered in one place, pushing each other as if trying to escape. A few people are seen helping those who have fallen due to the massive gathering. The entire video was shot from the top of a house.

Social media users shared the video with the caption: "At least 77 people have tragically lost their lives in a stampede at a religious gathering in Uttar Pradesh, India. The incident occurred at a prayer meeting organized by a Hindu guru, where locals had gathered under tents to seek shelter from the heat."

In clip 2, a white car is seen speeding through a huge crowd. Following the car are several people wearing the same uniform, appearing to provide a cordon for the vehicle. Social media users linked this video to the recent Hathras stampede, sharing it with Hindi text. “#हाथरस वीडियो मे देखे किस तरह से भोले बाबा सत्संग के बाद भगदड़ मची! बताया जा रहा है कि 120 लोगों की मौत हो चुकी है। इतने सारे शवो को देख हार्टअटैक से पुलिसवाले की मौत हो गई! आखिर इन बाबाओ को इतनी भीड़ इकट्ठा करने की छूट किसने दी” ??

When translated to English, it reads: "See, this is the chaos at Bhole Baba's Satsang. According to sources, 120 people died in the incident. Even a police person died of a heart attack after seeing a large number of dead bodies in one place. Who is giving the permission for these Babas to gather people in such huge numbers?”

Fact Check: We found the claim is false, old and unrelated visuals are being shared and linked with the Hathras tragedy.

Clip 1

During a reverse image search, we found that on March 17, 2024, NDTV uploaded the same video on their YouTube channel with the caption “Devotees Injured During Stampede At Mathura Temple's Pre-Holi Event.

We also found NDTV uploaded a link with the video, when we clicked the link, we found a detailed article published on it. “A stampede broke out during a pre-Holi event at the revered Shreeji Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura today. The incident resulted in at least six devotees falling unconscious, with injuries reported among the crowd”.

When we searched the key word “Stampede at Mathura's Shreeji Temple”, we found published an article with the heading “Holi 2024: 6 Injured in Stampede At Mathura's Shreeji Temple In Uttar Pradesh.

The article was published with a photograph that was a key frame from the viral video. It proved that the viral video claiming to be related to Hathras incident has been on the internet since March 2024. This video is not related to Hathras; it was captured during the pre-Holi celebration at Shreeji Temple in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.

Clip 2

During the reverse image search, we found a watermark in the viral video that read “Traveller Sachin.” When we searched for the same keyword on Google, we found a YouTube channel with the same name, which has 14.6K subscribers and has uploaded 233 videos. On February 9, 2024, a video was uploaded to the YouTube channel with the title “Mangal Divas Rupwas Bharatpur Rajasthan | Narayan Sakar Hari Ke Bhajan | Sataya Ka Sath Rajasthan.”

At the exact 6:58 timestamp, we found the same video that went viral in connection with the Hathras tragedy.

While comparing both images, we found:

1. The same white car in the crowd.

2. The same people wearing the same uniform are running behind the car.

3. A small tower above a white wall.

4. A man with a blue bag folding his hands towards the car.

5. A big red truck parked near the gathering.

This proves that the viral video claiming to be related to the recent Hathras incident has been on the internet since March 2024.

Hence, we found the claim is false; both the clips are not related with Hathras incident. Clip 1 was captured during the pre-Holi celebration at Shreeji Temple in Mathura while clip 2 is from Rajasthan.