The Shravana month of 2025 began on 11 July 2025, which also marked the start of the Kanwar Yatra. In this context, a video from MGM Inter College in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, went viral, showing a teacher singing a song during a student assembly that was allegedly against the Kanwar Yatra (here, here and here). Following this, Hindu organisations, including the BJP, registered a case against the teacher, and an FIR was filed.
Amid the controversy, another video (here, here and here) began circulating on social media showing a man dancing on stage in front of a student audience. It is being claimed that the man in the video is the same teacher who made remarks against the Kanwar Yatra. Let’s find out the truth behind this viral video.
Claim: The viral video shows teacher Rajneesh Gangwar, who recited a controversial poem on the Kanwar Yatra, dancing at a school event.
Fact: The viral dance video does not show Rajneesh Gangwar. It was originally uploaded by Instagram user @gaurav_kumar7055 on 28 January 2025 and features Gaurav Kumar himself. There is no connection between the video and Rajneesh Gangwar. Hence, the claim is FALSE.
To learn more about the case, we conducted a keyword search on Google, which led us to media reports about the incident (here, here and here). According to these reports, an FIR was filed against Rajneesh Gangwar, a teacher at MGM Inter College in Bareilly, after a video of him reciting a poem during a school assembly went viral. The poem, which encouraged students to pursue knowledge instead of participating in the Kanwar Yatra, was considered objectionable by Hindu organisations and BJP leaders, who accused him of hurting religious sentiments. The FIR was registered under IPC Section 353(2), and the police have launched an investigation. However, the District School Inspector stated that the teacher had no ill intentions and suggested that the video may have been deliberately circulated during the monsoon season to spark controversy. A new video of Rajneesh Gangwar is now circulating on social media, in which he clarifies that his intention was not to offend anyone but to inspire and enlighten the students.
To verify the truth behind the viral video, we conducted a reverse image search on Google, which led us to the original source, an Instagram account named @gaurav_kumar7055, where the video was uploaded on 28 January 2025. Upon reviewing the profile, we found several other videos of the same person dancing. This confirms that the individual in the viral video is Gaurav Kumar himself, and he has no connection to teacher Rajneesh Gangwar.
A comparison of the photos of Gaurav Kumar and Rajneesh Gangwar clearly shows that they are two different individuals, confirming that the person dancing in the viral video is not Rajneesh Gangwar.
To sum up, an unrelated video of a man dancing is falsely shared as showing teacher Rajneesh Gangwar, who recited an alleged controversial poem on the Kanwar Yatra, during a school event.
