Fact-Check: Video of Man Setting Shop on Fire Is From Kerala, Not Tamil Nadu

SHO Praveen SB of the Hill Palace police station in Tripunithura confirmed that the incident is from Kerala.

A video of a man setting a shop on fire in Kerala is being falsely shared as a video from Tamil Nadu.

(Source: Facebook/Altered by The Quint)

A video of a man setting a shop's front desk on fire is being shared on social media where users are claiming that it shows an incident from Tamil Nadu.

An archive of this post can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Archives of more claims on social media can be seen here, here and here.)

The background: The video is being shared as one from Tamil Nadu against the backdrop of a number of alleged attacks against Hindi-speaking migrant labourers from Bihar in the state.

But...?: The video is from Kerala's Tripunithura and was taken on 3 February.

SHO Praveen SB of Hill Palace police station in Tripunithura confirmed to The Quint that the incident took place in Kerala.

• He said that it showed a lottery vendor setting a competing lottery shop on fire and had been arrested.

How did we find out?: We noticed that the shop boards seen in the video carried text in the Malayalam language.

The shop's  signagecarries Malayaam text.

(Source: Facebook/Altered by The Quint)

Taking a cue from this, we used relevant keywords to look for more information.

• This led us to a news report by Kerala-based news organisation Mathrubhumi, which carried screenshots from the viral video.

• It mentioned that the incident took place in Tripunithura, located in Kerala's Ernakulam district.

The article mentioned that the incident was from Ernakulam district.

(Source: Mathrubhumi/Screenshot)

• A report by The New Indian Express identified the man as one Rajesh T and mentioned that he had set a lottery shop on fire after threatening to do so on Facebook Live.

• The incident took place on 3 February when Rajesh poured petrol on the shop's front desk before setting it ablaze, damaging lottery tickets worth approximately one lakh rupees, it added.

• It quoted the police, who told TNIE that Rajesh had issued the threat in "protest" against lottery agencies that were dominating ticket sales.

• The Quint reached out to Station House Officer (SHO) Praveen SB of the Hill Palace police station in Tripunithura, who confirmed that the video was from Kerala.

"This happened approximately 4-5 days ago. He is also a lottery seller and he lost his sales. Nothing is happening against migrant workers in Kerala."

SHO Praveen SB, Hill Palace police station, Tripunithura Police

• According to the SHO, the man was allegedly mentally unstable. He was arrested after the incident, and was subsequently moved to the hospital.

Conclusion: The video shows a lottery ticket vendor in Kerala's Tripunithura and is not from Tamil Nadu as claimed.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)