Video of a Man Kicking Hindu Goddess’ Photo Shared With False Communal Spin

Chhotaudepur SP Dharmendra Sharma denied the communal angle and identified the man as Yogesh Rathwa.

A video of a man shouting and kicking a photo of Hindu Goddess Saraswati is being shared on social media platforms.

The claim: The users, sharing the post, wrote that the man belongs to the Muslim community and demanded his arrest following his actions.

(Archives of posts with similar claims on social media can be seen here and here.)

But first, where is the incident from?: The incident took place on 28 December 2022 and is from Gujarat's Chhotaudepur district.

And what's the truth?: It shows one Yogesh Rathwa, who was reportedly drunk, shouting and kicking a Goddess' photo in a primary school in Gelesar Village.

• The Quint reached out to Chhotaudepur Superintendent of Police (SP) Dharmendra Sharma who, too, rubbished the communal angle.

How did we find out?: Using InVID, a video verification tool, we divided the video into keyframes and ran a reverse image search on them.

• The search led us to a report by Aaj Tak which carried stills from the viral video, adding that the incident happened in Gujarat's Chhotaudepur district.

• Speaking to The Quint, Chhotaudepur SP Dharmendra Sharma said, "The man in the video is not from the Muslim community. He is a Hindu adivasi whose name is Yogesh Rathwa. He was under the influence of alcohol when he did this, and he was arrested after that."

What does the FIR say?: We accessed a copy of the First Information Report (FIR) which mentioned that on 28 December 2022 Yogesh Rathwa was found to in an inebriated condition by a policeman from Kwant Police Station during patrolling.

• The FIR said that the man identified himself as Yogeshbhai Vishnubhai Rathwa, adding that he admitted to not having a permit for liquor consumption (Gujarat being a dry state) when asked about it.

• It added that since Rathwa was found in an inebriated state, he was charged under Section 66(1)B (consumption or use of any intoxicant) of the Gujarat Prohibition Act.

• However, the FIR makes no mention of Rathwa kicking the Goddess' photo.

The press note: The press note issued in this case mentioned that the man had "vandalised a school" after consuming liquor.

• It added that he was found by a policeman on patrolling duty near a primary school in Gujarat's Gelesar village. He was detained and later released.

• According to the note, Rathwa taught Gujarati and English in this school. However, the matter has been reported to the school to take further action.

Conclusion: The communal angle given to the incident is false. The video shows a man from the Hindu community, who was under the influence of alcohol, kicking a photo of Hindu Goddess Saraswati.

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