Old and unrelated visuals are shared as linked to the Kancha-Gachibowli controversy near HCU, Hyderabad
The Telangana government has decided to allocate 400 acres in Survey No. 25 of Kancha Gachibowli, near Hyderabad Central University (HCU) (also known as University of Hyderabad), for various projects through the Telangana Government Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC). While students allege that the government is trying to auction university land, officials claim the land belongs to the state. On 30 March 2025, land-leveling work began with JCBs, prompting protests from HCU students, environmentalists, and opposition parties, who argue the area is home to wildlife like deer, peacocks, turtles, and birds. In response, the Supreme Court, on 3 April 2025, ordered a halt to tree-felling on the site and directed the state’s Chief Secretary to ensure compliance while also asking the Telangana High Court Registrar to inspect the area and submit a report. A deer was reportedly injured after being attacked by stray dogs near the University of Hyderabad’s south campus hostel. Security personnel rescued the animal and took it to a veterinary hospital for treatment (here, here, here, here, and here). In this context, several videos are going viral on social media (here, here, and here), claiming to show visuals related to this issue. Let’s verify the claim made in the post through this article.
Claim: Visuals show animals during the tree felling & land levelling activities in Kancha Gachibowli, Hyderabad.
Fact: The viral videos are old and unrelated to the incidents in Kancha Gachibowli, Hyderabad. The first video is from 01 February 2025 showing an incident in Damdim, Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, where a wild elephant attacked an excavator after being provoked by locals. The second video, showing a group of sambars walking on a road, was recorded in Shivalik Nagar, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, during the COVID-19 lockdown. The third video features an elephant named Rhandzekile from Greater Kruger National Park in Africa, born with a natural deformity—a hole in her forehead. Hence, the claims made in these posts are FALSE.
Video 1
In this video, an elephant is seen clashing with a JCB. The post is being shared with the caption, “Even they know how to fight for their rights and place. Justice for HCU Biodiversity.”
A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led us to multiple news reports featuring the same visuals dated February 2025 (here, here, and here). According to these reports, a disturbing incident occurred on 01 February 2025 in the Damdim area of the Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, where a wild elephant allegedly attacked an excavator after being provoked by locals. The elephant reportedly charged at passersby before turning toward a JCB machine. The local police in Malbazar later arrested those accused of provoking the animal and attacking it with the machine.
Hence, this video is from an incident that occurred in West Bengal, not Hyderabad.
Video 2
A video showing a small group of deer walking on a road at night is being widely shared on social media. It is claimed that the video shows the aftermath of land clearing in Kancha Gachibowli.
A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led us to multiple social media posts (here and here) dated 27 March 2020. These posts mentioned that a family of Sambars was seen strolling down a road in Shivalik Nagar, Haridwar, during the lockdown. According to the posts, as humans stayed indoors, animals ventured out freely.
Based on clues from the posts, we searched using relevant keywords and found a news report by India Today dated 27 March 2020, which confirms that the viral video is from Shivalik Nagar in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. The report, titled “Video of Sambar deer walking in Uttarakhand society goes viral. Twitter cannot believe,” mentions that the video was shared by Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Susanta Nanda. Sharing the clip on X (formerly Twitter), Nanda wrote that the footage was shot near Rajaji National Park and added that wildlife was reclaiming space during the lockdown.
However, we could not independently verify when the video was originally recorded. But it has been available online at least since March 2020, this video has nothing to do with the Hyderabad incident.
Video 3
A video of an injured elephant is going viral on social media, with claims that it was hurt by a government JCB and that the Congress-led Telangana government lacks proper veterinary care.
A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led us to an Instagram post dated 13 December 2024, captioned “Mysteries of nature” and tagged with hashtags such as #safari, #nature, #experience, #photooftheday, #wildlifephotography, #naturephotography, #Africa, #wildlife, and #naturelovers. This confirmed that the video predates the Hyderabad incident.
Notably, the hashtag #africa was also included in the post. Taking cue from this, we searched using relevant keywords, which led us to a 2021 report on singita.com about an elephant named Rhandzekile in Greater Kruger National Park. Born with a large hole in her forehead, she breathes mainly through it. Despite the abnormality, she has lived a normal life, raised a calf, and stayed close to her herd. Her appearance is distinct, with slanted eyes and mucus from the hole. She feeds easily and drinks by bending her trunk. Her condition has allowed field guides to closely observe her impressive adaptation.
However, we could not independently verify when the video was originally recorded. But it has been available online much before the 2025 incident, this video has nothing to do with the Hyderabad.
To sum up, old and unrelated visuals are shared as linked to the Kancha-Gachibowli controversy near HCU, Hyderabad.