Fact-Check: Clips of Fight From Hyderabad Shared With a False Communal Narrative

The Santhnagar Police and an involved party confirmed to The Quint that the matter was not communal.

(Trigger Warning: Graphic visuals of violence. Viewers discretion is advised)

A post, which shows videos of some people getting beaten and injured, is being shared to claim that a Muslim mob in Hyderabad, Telangana attacked Hindus.

This post recorded 44.7K views at the time of writing this story. (Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

We also received a query about this on our WhatsApp tipline.

Is this true?: The claim is misleading.

• Sanathnagar Police told The Quint that there was no communal angle. The fight broke out over a local issue between two groups of people.

• The complainant also confirmed that the fight was not communal in nature.

• According to the First Information Report (FIR), those involved belong to both, the Hindu and Muslim communities.

How did we find out?: At first, we contacted the local police in the area and were told by local police authorities that there was "no communal angle involved."

• Police told The Quint that the fight broke out between two neighbouring slums over a local issue.

• They also told us that an FIR has been registered in this matter.

Victim's account: We spoke to one of victims of the incident, Baindla Jayanth Dharma Teja who told us, "There was no communal angle involved in the fight."

• The scuffle broke out when one Rahul and his friend spat on Jayanth's friend's bike outside a kite shop in their area.

• Jayanth interjected when Rahul and his friend picked up a fight with another other person who was present with him.

• The victim mentioned that the accused attacked his family members as well and used casteist slurs.

First Information Report: The Quint accessed the FIR that was registered on 14 January in the Sanathnagar Police Station and described the incident in detail.

• It mentioned that two people, the complainant and one Robin, were at a shop in Babbuguda, when two men, namely Rahul and Abbas, picked up a fight with the latter.

• These two men 'spat' next to Robin's motorcycle and the complainant interjected.

• The matter escalated when Rahul, accompanied by a few people, came near Robin's residence and verbally abused them. However, they fled when they saw the complainant coming to the spot, the FIR stated.

• Rahul and his group returned to attack Robin and his friends, who were subjected to casteist slurs and left one person with "bleeding injuries."

• The FIR also mentioned that the caste identity of the complainant was Scheduled Caste.

Who sustained injuries?: According to the FIR, the following people sustained injuries: Yadagiri, Denandam, Akash, Yadaiah, Prudvi, Robin, and Venkatesh.

Who are the accused?: According to the FIR, the following people are named as the accused in the case: Rahul, Abbas, Jai, Imran and Nikhil.

Action Taken: The police have registered a case against the accused under Sections 3(1)(r)(s)(c), 3(2)(V) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

• It also adds charges related to attempted murder (IPC 307) (Attempt to Murder), causing voluntary hurt (IPC 324), criminal intimidation (IPC 506), among others.

Conclusion: The video of the fight is being shared with a false communal claim. The accused and the aggrieved parties belong to both Hindu and Muslim communities.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , 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.)