A video is going viral on social media showing a man dragging an elderly person on the road. Social media users sharing the clip claim that it is from Kurukshetra, Haryana, and allege that a Dargah caretaker named Gaffar Ali assaulted a temple priest named Yogiraj because the temple’s presence had supposedly reduced the number of visitors to the Dargah.
Sharing the video, a user named Deepak Sharma wrote, “This individual should not escape… repost until an arrest is made. Gaffar Ali dragging the temple priest… In Kurukshetra, Haryana, a Dargah servant reportedly injured a nearby temple priest and dragged him away because people were not coming to the Dargah due to the temple.” (English Translation)
Another user, Mr Tiwaree, shared the viral video with an English caption that read: “This individual should not be spared… repost this until an arrest is made. In Kurukshetra, Haryana, it is alleged that Ghaffar Ali from the Dargah physically assaulted the temple priest, causing severe injuries and dragging him, claiming this occurred because the temple was affecting the crowd at the Dargah. This person should face legal consequences.”(English Translation)
SanataniRiddhi, another user posted the video and wrote, “In Kurukshetra, Haryana, people were not visiting a dargah because of a nearby temple, so Bulle Ghaffar Ali brutally beat the temple priest, breaking his legs, and then dragged him outside with a noose around his neck. I had said this before: these people are asuras (demons) with a rotten mindset, and they need to be dealt with now. Zubair, Arfa ‘Tai’, and all those leftist scumbags are silent on this incident—why, you hypocrites? Are you too busy eating Junaid’s biryani? Hindus, do not stop reposting this until this scumbag is arrested.”
Apart from this, many other users have also shared this video claiming it shows Ghaffar Ali attacking a temple priest, which can be seen here, here, and here.
Fact Check:
During its investigation, the DFRAC team found that the accused in the attack on priest Yogiraj in Kurukshetra is not Ghaffar Ali. The police have arrested the accused, Pankaj Saini, in connection with the attack. Randhir Singh, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Thanesar Sadar Police Station in Kurukshetra, told DFRAC that both the victim priest and the accused are Hindus. He identified the accused as Pankaj Saini, son of Joginder Saini.
To verify the claim, the DFRAC team first converted the viral video into keyframes and conducted a reverse image search. This led to several reports on the incident, including those by Amar Ujala, Republic World, and Dainik Bhaskar. According to the Amar Ujala report, “In Adhoni village, an 80-year-old priest named Yogiraj was brutally beaten by a local man named Pankaj near the Shivnath Temple. The accused allegedly beat the priest nearly to death with a stick, tied a cloth around his neck, dragged him, and abandoned him at a village intersection. The incident reportedly took place at around 4 a.m. on Thursday.”
Meanwhile, Republic World reported that “The main accused, Pankaj, arrived at the temple with another person named Inder. A verbal altercation soon turned violent. Pankaj allegedly abused the elderly priest, fetched a stick, and repeatedly assaulted him. The attack was so severe that one of the priest’s legs was allegedly broken. Police said the accused tied a cloth around Yogiraj’s neck, dragged him through the village, and left him at a nearby intersection before fleeing. The injured priest remained on the roadside for nearly two hours until villagers found him. They noticed blood stains near the temple, followed the trail, and discovered the unconscious priest. He was immediately taken to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. His condition was reported to be critical.”
A report by Dainik Bhaskar stated that Pankaj Saini was allegedly upset over the increasing number of devotees visiting the temple and the declining number of visitors to the nearby Dargah, which reportedly led to the assault on priest Yogiraj.
For further verification, the DFRAC team contacted Randhir Singh, the SHO of Thanesar Sadar Police Station in Kurukshetra. Refuting the viral claim, he confirmed that both the victim priest and the accused are Hindus. He identified the accused as Pankaj Saini, son of Joginder Saini, and stated that the incident was not a case of communal conflict. He added that misleading information was being circulated on social media.
Conclusion:
DFRAC’s fact-check confirms that Pankaj Saini is the accused in the attack on Yogiraj, the priest of Shivnath Temple in Adhoni village, Kurukshetra. Social media users have misleadingly identified him as Gaffar Ali. The police have arrested Pankaj Saini and his wife in connection with the incident. Therefore, the viral claim identifying the accused as Gaffar Ali and portraying the incident as a communal attack is misleading
