The man accused of molesting a minor girl on 08 August 2025 in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand is not a Muslim
A video showing a man wielding a baton and apprehending a young boy, allegedly for molesting a minor girl in Nori Gaon under the Karnaprayag police station limits in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, is being widely circulated on social media with the claim that a Muslim youth was caught while attempting to lure a minor Hindu girl into his room in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand (here, here, and here). In this article, we fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: The video shows a Muslim boy caught by local people while attempting to molest a minor Hindu girl in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand.
Fact: This incident took place on 08 August 2025 under the Karnaprayag police station limits in Chamoli, Uttarakhand. The accused in this case is not a Muslim. Uttarakhand Police have identified the accused as Arjun, aged 21. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To know more details about this incident, we conducted a relevant keyword search on the internet. This search led us to multiple news reports published by local Uttarakhand news websites (here, here). According to these reports, the incident took place on 08 August 2025 near Bhairav Temple, Kolsu, under the Karnaprayag police station limits in Chamoli, Uttarakhand. The reports further stated that on the same day, the Karnaprayag police arrested the accused, identified as 21-year-old Arjun Kumar.
We then found a Facebook post by Chamoli Police dated 08 August 2025, which provided more details about the case. According to the post, a minor girl from Karnaprayag went missing on her way to school and was later found with 21-year-old Arjun Kumar, son of Bijendra Lal, in an objectionable state near Bhairav Mandir, Kolsu. The victim stated that Arjun Kumar took her along the way to school, molested her, and forced her. The post further mentioned that, considering the sensitivity and seriousness of the case, an FIR was registered at Karnaprayag police station under Crime No. 42/2025, Sections 75(2)/96/351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Sections 7/8 of the POCSO Act. The accused, Arjun Kumar, son of Mr. Bijendra Lal, a resident of Bagoli village under Karnaprayag police station limits in Chamoli district, aged about 21 years, was arrested on the same day.
On 13 August 2025, the official X (formerly Twitter) handle and Instagram page of the Uttarakhand Police shared a post featuring a screengrab from the viral video and urged people not to fall for rumours. The post read: “Avoid rumors, know the truth. On August 08, in a case related to a minor in the Karnaprayag police station area of Chamoli, the accused Arjun (age 21 years) was booked under the BNS and POCSO Act, arrested on the same day, and sent to jail.” In these posts, Uttarakhand Police clarified that the viral video pertains to this incident. Similarly, Chamoli district police’s official X handle and Facebook page also shared a post on 13 August 2025, which also identified the accused as 21-year-old Arjun.
We then visited the Uttarakhand Police website and accessed the FIR registered in this case, which mentioned the accused as Arjun (21), son of Bijendra Lal. From this, it is clear that the accused in this incident is not a Muslim, as claimed in the viral posts.
To sum it up, Uttarakhand Police have confirmed that the accused in this incident is not a Muslim and have identified him as Arjun, aged 21.