Fact Check: Old Protest Over Waste Misrepresented as Samajwadi Party Gathering

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of systematically working to dismantle institutions belonging to minority communities. Speaking at a press conference at the SP headquarters in Lucknow on Friday, Yadav alleged that the government was adopting a "divide and rule" strategy reminiscent of British colonial rule.

He claimed that madrasas were being shut down, land records were being selectively scrutinised, and bulldozers were being used on properties linked to Muslim institutions. “This isn’t limited to Muslims anymore,” he said. “Now, Christian institutions are also being targeted.”

Yadav further criticised the government for claiming progress towards a trillion-dollar economy while, according to him, lakhs of government posts remain vacant — including over two lakh in the education sector. “Can this be called a developed nation when essential services are suffering due to staff shortages?” he questioned.

Amid the ongoing political discourse, a disturbing video has surfaced on social media showing individuals sprinkling petrol on themselves and setting themselves on fire.

The clip is being circulated with the claim that one of the persons in the video is a leader of the Samajwadi Party.

Fact Check:

The claim is misleading. The actual video is from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Pithampur in the Dhar district was chosen as the site to dispose of Union Carbide's toxic waste from Bhopal. This decision sparked controversy, leading to widespread uproar in Pithampur, where two individuals attempted self-immolation.

While investigating the incident, we found no evidence of any such event occurring in Uttar Pradesh recently. Had such an incident taken place, it would likely have been reported by the media.

To verify further, we contacted journalist Yogesh Kumar from Uttar Pradesh. According to him, "No such incident has happened in Uttar Pradesh recently. If it had, we would have definitely reported it. The video appears to be old or may be unrelated to Uttar Pradesh."

During the reverse image search, we found an article published in The Indian Express on 4 January 2025.

The article was titled: MP: Two injured during protest against dumping of Union Carbide plant waste.

The article was published with an image that closely resembles a frame from the viral video.

When we compared both, we found that they are from the same incident.

In the article, The Indian Express mentioned that two men sustained burn injuries while participating in protests against the incineration of 337 metric tonnes of toxic waste from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, at a facility in Pithampur.

This confirms that the viral video is from Madhya Pradesh and not from Uttar Pradesh.

When we searched using relevant keywords, we found that several media outlets had published the same information:

On 4th Jan 2025, The Hindu published an article stating that two men suffered burn injuries on 3 January 2025 after they tried to immolate themselves during a bandh in Madhya Pradesh’s Pithampur, a day after Bhopal gas tragedy’s toxic waste from the Union Carbide factory was transferred there.

NDTV reported that two men set themselves ablaze in Pithampur during a protest against the disposal of hazardous waste from Bhopal’s Union Carbide factory. The men suffered burn injuries and were hospitalised.

The Economic Times stated that two men were hospitalised after attempting self-immolation during protests in Madhya Pradesh's Pithampur.

The claim is misleading. The viral video is not from Uttar Pradesh but from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. It shows a protest in Pithampur, Dhar district, against the disposal of Union Carbide's toxic waste, during which two individuals attempted self-immolation.