A video of some boys trying to remove some equipment on a railway track is being shared on social media platforms as recent visuals from India and with a communal claim.
What are people claiming?: An X (formerly Twitter) premium user shared the video with a caption saying, "Children of a particular cult removing railway fishplates with the aim of the mass slaughter of innocents."
You can view an archive of the post here.
(Source: X/Screenshot)
At the time of writing this report, the post had garnered over a million views. More archives of similar claims can be viewed here, here, and here.
Is this claim true?: No. The video could be traced back to December 2023 and is unrelated to India. It shows some boys trying to steal nut bolts from Sartaj Khan Phatak railway line near Boat Basin Chowki in Pakistan.
How did we find that out?: On conducting a Google Lens search on the viral video, we found the same visuals uploaded on a Facebook handle named 'Pakistani Trains'.
The video was published on 5 December 2023 and its caption said, "Valuable equipment of railway line is being stolen near Sir Taj Khan Pathak Boat Basin checkpoint for several days. PS Boat Basin is requested to take action."
Statement from the police: The media cell of Pakistan's DIG South Zone clarified on Facebook that the video showed bolt theft from Boat Basin Checkpoint.
The three boys seen in the viral video were arrested and their parents were called.
The post asked people to keep an eye of their children's activities.
Conclusion: This video is old and is unrelated to India.
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