The incident of miscreants attacking vehicles in Ahmedabad’s Vastral area on 13 March 2025 is being shared with a false communal narrative
A video circulating on social media (here, and here) claims to show Muslim miscreants in Ahmedabad armed with swords and iron rods vandalising public property and attacking people a day before Holi. The later part of the video claims to show the Gujarat Police detaining them, parading them on a road, and beating them. Let’s verify the claim made in the post through this article.
Claim: The video shows Gujarat Police detaining, parading, and beating Muslim youth in Ahmedabad for vandalising property and attacking people.
Fact: The viral video shows the police arresting and punishing those involved in the Vastral vehicle attack in Ahmedabad on the night of 13 March 2025. The police also paraded them on the roads the next day. Ahmedabad Police stated in an X post that the violence stemmed from personal enmity. The Ramol police, who registered the FIR, confirmed to Factly that the incident had no communal angle and that none of the arrested accused so far are Muslims. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To verify the claim, we conducted a Google search using relevant keywords, which led us to a Mint report published on 15 March 2025. According to the report, Ahmedabad Police arrested and publicly punished individuals involved in vandalising vehicles with sticks and rods in the Vastral area. It stated that on 13 March 2025, a day before Holi, a mob of around 20 people attacked an SUV owner and damaged nearby vehicles with knives and sticks. So far, at least 14 people have been arrested. Ahmedabad Deputy Commissioner of Police Baldev Desai stated that preliminary investigation suggested the violence stemmed from a dispute between two individuals over setting up a food stall near a commercial complex in Vastral.
We found multiple reports (here, here, and here) covering the same incident. These reports indicate that the attack stemmed from personal enmity. The dispute began between Pankaj Bhavsar and Sangram Sikarwar over parking a cart in Ahmedabad’s Ramol area. On the night of 13 March 2025, Bhavsar, accompanied by 14 others, including a minor, went to Vastral and vandalised vehicles parked outside a shop where Sikarwar used to sit. They later took to the streets, attacking commuters and locals with weapons.
A Gujarat Samachar report dated 15 March 2025 confirms that 14 individuals, including a minor, were arrested in connection with the Vastral violence. The report names the accused as Aldeep Maurya, Shyam Kamli, Vikas (Bittu) Parihar, Ashil Makwana, Rohit (Durlabh) Sonawane, Nikhil Chauhan, Mayur Marathi, Pradeep (Monu) Tiwari, Rajveer Singh Bihola, Alkesh Yadav, Ayush Rajput, Dinesh Rajput, and Deepak Kushwaha.
As per the report, the police paraded the accused in public, used batons on them, and made them apologise. Additionally, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) took action by demolishing the unauthorised houses of the seven accused. However, there is no mention in any of the reports that the incident had a communal angle or that the accused were Muslims.
We also found an X post by Ahmedabad Police on 14 March 2025 addressing the incident and featuring the same viral video. The post stated that the Vastral incident was a result of personal enmity. It mentioned that upon receiving information, teams led by Police Inspector Ramol immediately arrived at the scene. Additionally, an FIR was registered and 13 accused had been arrested at the time.
We accessed the FIR copy of the case, which lists the names of the accused and states that a total of 20 individuals were involved in the attack. However, none of them were Muslims.
Additionally, we contacted the Ramol Police who confirmed that the incident has no communal angle, and so far, none of the arrested accused are Muslims. The investigation is still ongoing.
To sum up, the viral video shows Gujarat police arresting and punishing the accused involved in the Vastral vehicle attack on 13 March 2025, none of who are Muslims.