Update (21 April 2023):
As the video went viral on social media and WhatsApp, the management of the mall also issued a clarification refuting the viral narrative associated with the video, and terming it as blatantly false. The management had posted a clarification on their social media handles (here & here).
According to news reports, Sanjeev Mehra, vice-president of the mall clarified that it is due to the power cut in the neighborhood, the local youth entered the mall around 11:30 pm and an hour and a half later they were escorted out. As far as the viral video is concerned, “We would like to state that the mall did not face any such demand, nor was there any lack of cooperation from police when we had to finally shut the mall. The message is being falsely represented to stoke fear and hatred”, Mehra said.
Earlier, the detective chief of Kolkata police told media that their investigation revealed that the youth entered the mall to take rest under the AC, as the neighbourhood is reeling under power cuts. And the youth left after a while and there is no deterioration of law and order.
Published (19 April 2023):
A video showing a group of men sitting/sleeping on the floors of a mall is being widely circulated. The video is being circulated associating it with a claim that visuals show people from certain communities barging into Quest Mall in Kolkata, demanding free food & gifts for Eid. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Visuals showing people belonging to the Muslim community barging into a mall, demanding free food and gifts for Eid.
Fact: The visuals show locals of Radha Gobindo Saha Lane and Dilkhusha Street in Kolkata taking respite in the nearby Quest mall, as the area is reeling under heat and long duration of power outages. News agencies reported locals protesting the prolonged outage of electricity in pockets of Kolkata. However, there are no reports associating the visuals to the viral claim. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Although the visuals show people taking shelter in a mall in Kolkata, they however, did not do so for free food and gifts, but as respite from heat and electricity outages.
A reverse image search of the screenshots of the viral video yielded a news report which carried the same image. As per the news report, the visuals show residents of Radha Gobindo Saha Lane and Dilkhusha Street in Kolkata, taking rest in the nearby Quest Mall, as the area is reeling under heat and long-duration of power outages.
As per the report, police forced out the locals who entered the mall. The report further added that the area is facing frequent power outages and even people from the Jadavpur area hurled stones at CESC office, which supplies electricity in the area. Further, there is no mention of locals demanding gifts or free food.
There are other news reports, saying that power cuts caused by the tripping of distribution boxes, transformers, and cable faults have triggered protests in pockets of Kolkata. These reports can be viewed here & here. Further, there are no reports supporting the viral claim.
CESC has said that faults had been caused due to excess power demand and requested the consumers for judicious use of electric appliances to avoid overloading of the electric network.
All these establish that the visuals show residents entering the mall to get respite from power outages and not any specific community demanding gifts for Eid.
To sum it up, visuals of locals taking respite in a mall due to a power outage in Kolkata are being shared with communal spin.
