A video is being widely shared on social media showing several people beating a man with sticks and other weapons. Users sharing the video claim that a social worker named Satish Marathe was beaten to death by a Muslim mob in Surat, Gujarat. They further claim that the accused were Bangladeshi Muslims living in slums in Surat and that Marathe had been demanding an investigation into them.
Sharing the video, a user named Udayveer Singh Chandel wrote: “In Surat, Gujarat, a social worker named Satish Marathe was brutally murdered by Muslim youths. They took him near the slum and killed him by chopping him with an axe. So far, two youths, Arbaz and Karim Bairon, have been arrested. It is being said that these people living in the slums are Bangladeshis. Satish Marathe was getting them investigated and had demanded that the slums be removed. The Muslim youths from the slums then looted and murdered him.”
ANIL GIRI – X CLASSES another user shared the video with a similar claim, stating that Satish Marathe was taken near a slum by Muslim youths and brutally killed with an axe. The post also alleged that Arbaz and Karim Bairon had been arrested and that the accused were Bangladeshi Muslims whom Marathe had been trying to get investigated and evicted from the area. #Gujarat #Murder
Several other users have also shared the video with similar claims. The posts can be seen here.
Fact check:
DFRAC’s investigation found that the claim is misleading and that there is no communal angle to the murder. The main accused in the murder case is identified as Rahul Mandal. DFRAC also contacted Sanjay Desai, the officer in charge of Bhestan Police Station in Surat, who refuted the viral claim and confirmed that there is no communal angle to the case and that not a single accused is Muslim.
To investigate the viral claim, the DFRAC team first conducted a keyword search on Google using terms related to Satish Marathe’s murder. We found reports from NDTV, News18 Marathi, Lokmat, and Maharashtra Times, which provided details about the incident. According to an NDTV report, a horrifying live video of the public murder of Satish alias Satish Maratha in Surat’s Bhestan area had emerged. The video shows Satish being surrounded by several people before being attacked repeatedly with sharp weapons. The attackers can be seen carrying swords, dhariya and knives, while Satish attempts to defend himself.
A News18 Marathi report stated that preparations to kill Satish had allegedly been underway for several months. According to the report, a pistol was allegedly delivered to Surat two months earlier by a person named Suryabhan Prasad on the instructions of Rahul Mandal. The weapon was subsequently taken to Kadodara through Rahul Bhatka and handed over to an accused identified as “Sunny.” The report also stated that a GPS tracker had been procured from Navsari to monitor Satish’s movements around the clock. The tracker was allegedly concealed beneath the driver’s seat of his car without his knowledge. According to a Maharashtra Times report, after two failed attempts to kill Satish, the accused continued tracking his location through the GPS device. They allegedly saw that Satish was heading towards Mahavir College. At the time, Satish was accompanied by a woman and was therefore reportedly unaware of the attackers’ plans. After leaving the college and reaching the Bhestan area, he was allegedly attacked by assailants who had been lying in wait and was brutally murdered.
A Lokmat report stated that police arrested the accused while they were allegedly attempting to flee towards the Maharashtra border following the murder. The report identified those arrested as Ketan alias Sunny Shirsath, Rahul alias Batko, Karan alias Pudul Hiramali Dubey, Ajit alias Justin Goswami, Akash Batko and four minors. The process of arresting the alleged main conspirator, Rahul Mandal, from jail was also underway. Another accused, Rinku, was reportedly absconding and a search for him was underway.
For further verification, the DFRAC team contacted Sanjay Desai, the officer in charge of Bhestan Police Station in Surat. He categorically denied the viral claim and stated that there was no communal angle to the murder and that none of the accused were Muslim. He further confirmed that Rahul Mandal was the main accused in the murder case and that several other accused had also been arrested.
Conclusion:
DFRAC’s fact-check establishes that the claim accompanying the viral video is misleading. No Muslim person is accused in the Satish Marathe murder case, and Rahul Mandal has been identified as the main conspirator. The police also confirmed to DFRAC that there is no communal angle to the case and that none of the accused are Muslim. Therefore, the claim that Satish Marathe was murdered by Muslim youths or Bangladeshi Muslims living in Surat’s slums is false and misleading.
| Claim Review | Satish Maratha was beaten to death by Muslims in Surat, Gujarat. |
| Claimed By | X User– उदयवीर सिंह चंदेल, ANIL GIRI – X CLASSES and Others |
| Fact Check | Misleading |
Sources:
- News Coverage of Lokmat on August 11th, 2026
- News Coverage of NDTV on August 9th, 2026
- News Coverage of News18 Marathi on August 15th, 2026
- News Coverage of Maharashtra Times on August 15th, 2026
- Bhestan-Surat Police Station In-Charge Statement to DFRAC
