Old Pics From Tripura & Kolkata Falsely Linked To Recent Violence in the State

Both the images are unrelated and do not show the recent violence that broke out in Tripura on 26 October.

A set of photos is being shared on social media with the claim that it shows visuals of the recent violence that ensued in Tripura on Tuesday, 26 October, as Hindu right-wing group Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) took out a rally in several parts of the state against attacks on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.

However, we found that both the photos are unrelated. The first image is from Tripura when clashes broke out between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) supporters in September, while the other is from a religious procession taken out by VHP supporters in Kolkata in 2018.

CLAIM

The photos are being shared with the claim, in Hindi, that reads, "ये तस्वीर तालिबान का नही बल्कि लोकतांत्रिक देश भारत का है !"

(Translation: These photos are not from the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, these are from India.)

The photos are shared along with the hashtags #TripuraRiots and #SaveTripuraMuslims.

Several social media users have shared the photos along with same claims and the archived links can be seen here, here, and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We found that while the first photo is from Tripura, it's from September and not from the violence that happened in October. The second photo is from Kolkata, West Bengal.

Let's take a look at them one by one.

IMAGE 1

We conducted a Google reverse image search on the photo and the search result led us to an article by News18 published on 8 September.

The image was credited to news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) and the caption read, "Vehicles in flames after clashes between BJP supporters and CPI(M) activists, in Agartala, Wednesday, 8 Sep 2021. (sic)"

The Quint, too, had used the photo in an article about the violence in Tripura where 10 persons were injured, two party offices destroyed, and at least six vehicles set ablaze, amid clashes between BJP and CPI(M) supporters in different parts of the state, including capital Agartala on 8 September.

We also found the viral image on PTI archives that mentioned that the incident took place on 8 September.

IMAGE 2

We performed a Google reverse image search and the results showed us an article by Hindustan Times published on 27 March 2018.

The image was credited to HT photographer Samir Jana and the caption read, "VHP supporters take out a religious procession to celebrate Ram Navami in, Jadavpur area in Kolkata, on 25 March 2018. (sic)"

At least three people had died in clashes that broke out in parts of West Bengal during Ram Navami processions in the state in 2018.

Clearly, unrelated photos are being circulated on social media with the false claim that they show the recent violence that took place in Tripura.

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