Fact Check: Stones Were Not Pelted Against Pilgrims’ Vehicles at Vaishno Devi Temple
Vaishno Devi Shrine is located in the Trikuta hills, 13 km from the base camp, Katra, a prominent town in District Reasi
Claim :
Video showing people pelting stones at the vehicles of pilgrims going to the Shri Vaishno Devi Temple in KashmirFact :
The video is from Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and does not show vehicles of pilgrims going to the Shri Vaishno Devi temple
Vaishno Devi Shrine is located in the Trikuta hills, 13 km from the base camp, Katra, a prominent town in District Reasi, and 63 km from Jammu city. The shrine is a famous pilgrimage centre in Jammu and Kashmir state. It has been managed by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board since 1986. Millions of pilgrims from within and outside the country visit this holy place every year. This temple is generally open to devotees all year round, but the best time to visit is during the summer months, from March to June, due to the pleasant weather. The temple is open 24 hours a day.
Meanwhile, a video in circulation on social media claims that it shows local people pelting stones at the vehicles in which pilgrims were travelling to the Vaishnao devi temple darshan. The video shows local people taking stones and throwing them at a vehicle coming down the hill. We can hear people shouting ‘Maro maro’ and also some gunshots. The caption shared with the video claims that the pilgrims and security personnel travelling to Vaishno devi temple were attacked by the local jihadis.
The claim in Telugu along with the video goes ‘వైష్ణో దేవీ దర్శనానికి వెళ్తున్న హిందువులు మరియు రక్షణ కాన్వాయ్ పై జీహాదీల రాళ్ళ దాడులు... వీళ్లా శాంతి కాముకులు..!?
Here is the archive link of the claim.
Fact Check:
The claim is False. The video is not related to the Shri Vaishno Devi temple pilgrims.
When we extracted the keyframes from the video and searched using Google reverse image search, we found a video shared by an Instagram user named the pahaari, the text on the video shows, stating that the video shows local people throwing stones at Pakistan security forces, and the vehicles were burnt.
Another user shared the same video with the caption “Angry with Pakistan, people of Balochistan pelted stones on Pakistani vehicles on May 22, 2024.
To confirm the place seen in the viral video is indeed Mujaffarabad, we searched further, where we found stock images of the place as seen in the viral video.
Here is the Youtube link showing Mujaffarabad in more detail.
According to reports, Pakistani Rangers, a paramilitary force under the Pakistan Army, opened fire in Muzaffarabad, killing at least four civilians protesting against inflation and exploitation, in what could escalate the already tense situation in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The development came on a day when Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered an “immediate release” of Pakistani Rs 23 billion for PoK after an emergency meeting in Islamabad to take stock of violent clashes in the region.
According to Kashmir Times, three local civilians were killed in firing by Pakistani Rangers, while seven others, including three Rangers, sustained injuries during clashes between residents and Rangers in the vicinity of Muzaffarabad, the capital city of Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK). The clashes erupted as young boys started hurling stones at a Ranger convoy passing through Bararkot, situated on the border between Muzaffarabad and Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Responding to the stone pelting, the Pakistani Rangers resorted to firing and deployed tear gas.
Therefore, the viral video is not recent and does not show people attacking vehicles of pilgrims travelling to the Vaishno devi temple. The claim is False.
