Kanwariyas Found Bone in Their Food in UP Restaurant? No, Video Is Unrelated!

The incident took place on 31 July in Gorakhpur, whereas the Kanwar Yatra ended on 23 July.

Fact-Check: This incident did not involve Kanwar Yatris.

(Source: The Quint) 

A video from a restaurant's CCTV showing a group of people dining has gone viral on social media.

The claim: Those sharing the video claimed that it showed a group of Kanwariyas (pilgrims) in Uttar Pradesh, who caused a ruckus at a restaurant after finding animal bone fragments in their food, while they typically follow a vegetarian diet during their pilgrimage.

• However, it was later revealed that the devotees had staged the incident to avoid paying the bill.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: Facebook.Screenshot) 

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false.

• As per news reports, the incident took place after the Kanwar Yatra ended on 31 July in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.

• The local city police also refuted that the incident involved Kanwariyas.

What we found: At first, we divided the video into some screenshots and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• This led us to a report by NDTV from 3 August which included screenshots similar to the frames of the viral video.

• It noted that the clip was recorded at a restaurant named 'Biryani Bay' in Shastri Chowk in Gorakhpur.

• The report stated that the incident took place on 31 July, when a group of men visited the restaurant, with some ordering vegetarian dishes and others opting for non-vegetarian ones.

• The report stated that as their meal got over, the group caused an issue by claiming there were bones in the vegetarian dishes.

• NDTV reported that restaurant owner Ravikar Singh released the CCTV footage showing one of the men taking a bone from a non-vegetarian plate and placing it into a vegetarian plate.

• The video also showed another man handing the bone to him, which he then put into the plate of a friend eating vegetarian food.

• Singh alleged that the group did such a thing to evade paying their high bill.

Here is the preview of the NDTV report. 

(Source: NDTV/Screenshot) 

• Other news outlets such as the Indian Express and the Hindustan Times also reported on this incident on 4 August.

• However, NONE of the news reports mentioned the involvement of the kanwariyas in this incident.

• Additionally, the annual yatra ended on 23 July, while this incident took place on 31 July.

Police clarification: The Quint contacted a police officer (who did not wish to be named) at the Cantonment Police Station in Gorakhpur, who refuted the claim that the incident involved Kanwariyas and noted that it took place after the yatra ended.

Conclusion: A video of a group dining at a Gorakhpur restaurant has gone viral with the false claim that it shows Kanwariyas causing a ruckus after allegedly finding bone fragments in their vegetarian food.

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