No Communal Angle in the brawl during rafting in Rishikesh
An altercation reportedly took place between tourists and rafting guides on the banks of the Ganges in Rishikesh. In connection with this incident, a video depicting the clash between tourists and rafting guides is circulating with communal claims. The video claims that Muslim rafting guides assaulted Hindus (here & here). This article aims to fact-check the claims made in the post.
Claim: Video showing alleged assault by Muslim guides on Hindus in Rishikesh.
Fact: The police confirmed that the incident is not communal in nature. They have arrested three suspects: Ashish Joshi, Kamlesh Rajbhar, and Ganga Tyagi, all of whom have Hindu names, refuting the allegation of Muslims attacking Hindus. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Earlier in June 2024, a clash reportedly occurred between Rishikesh’s rafting guides and visitors, resulting in several injuries. However, contrary to viral claims, the incident had no communal angle. A Google search using relevant keywords led to multiple news articles reporting the incident.
However, none of these reports mentioned a communal angle. According to the reports, the incident took place at the Brahmapuri rafting point near Rishikesh. Additionally, it was reported that no formal police complaint has been filed. However, the police took cognizance of the incident, arrested three attackers, and sent them to jail (here & here).
Following leads from the news reports, a further search revealed a social media post by the Uttarakhand police providing details about the incident (here & here). The police explained that the fight broke out due to a dispute with a client from another company after the raft got stuck while being taken to the rafting point.
The police arrested Ashish Joshi, Kamlesh Rajbhar, and Ganga Tyagi and are searching for the other three suspects. Additionally, the police have requested the Magistrate to cancel the rafting company’s license. The names of the arrested individuals indicate they are Hindus, disproving the claim that Muslims attacked Hindus. Furthermore, in a statement to BOOM, the police clarified that there is no communal angle to the incident.
To sum up, a video showing a brawl during rafting in Rishikesh has no communal angle.