A post is being shared on social media in which a crocodile can be seen swimming in a waterlogged street. The text on the post identifies the place as Aligarh, which is in Uttar Pradesh. Let’s verify this video through this article.
Claim: Video of a crocodile swimming in a flooded street of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.
Fact: This incident occurred in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, on 14 August 2022. Based on various news reports, an 8-foot-long crocodile strolled through a residential colony after Shivpuri received heavy rains. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We ran a keyword search on google with appropriate keywords and were led to a news report published on India.com that contained a screengrab from the viral video. As heavy rains lashed several parts of Madhya Pradesh, a crocodile wandered into a residential colony in Shivpuri district on Sunday (14 August 2020). Further search led us to multiple news reports on the same incident (here, here and here.) Video reports of this incident can be seen here, here and here.
As per a news report published by NDTV, ‘The reptile was first spotted near a bus stand on Sunday and authorities were informed, police officer Ajay Bhargava said. A rescue team from Madhav National Park rushed in and, following efforts that lasted an hour, it was captured. The eight-foot crocodile was later released in Sankhya Sagar Lake, located on the national park premises.’ Clearly, the viral post incorrectly claims the location of this incident as Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.
To sum it up, video of a crocodile strolling through a waterlogged lane in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, is shared as an incident that took place in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.
