Video of kids recovered from a truck in Maharashtra is falsely shared as Rohingyas from Bangladesh.
Claim
In Kolhapur, Maharashtra, a truck carrying 63 Muslim children was intercepted by the police near Ruikar Colony at 2 pm today. All the children claimed themselves to be from Bihar. But railway tickets of West Bengal have been recovered from them. Now let me tell that Rohingyas from Bangladesh are allowed to enter West Bengal and from there they are being transported across the country. What is the plan after all…?
Rating
Explanation
A video showing kids in a truck being rescued by police is shared with the claim that the Rohingyas from Bangladesh are allowed to enter West Bengal and from there they are being transported across the country. It is mentioned that railway tickets of West Bengal have been recovered from the kids rescued from the truck. Some of the posts with such a claim can be seen here and here.
https://twitter.com/raviagrawal3/status/1658953802475786240?s=46&t=kIszbQH_arRSG8kPbuGeZw
The posts in Hindi read as “महाराष्ट्र कोल्हापुर में 63 मुस्लिम बच्चों को ले जा रहा एक ट्रक आज दोपहर 2 बजे रुइकरकॉलोनी के पास पुलिस ने पकड़ा। सभी बच्चों ने खुद को बिहार से होने का दावा किया| लेकिन उनके पास से पश्चिम बंगाल के रेलवेटिकट बरामद हुए है। अब बता दूँ कि बांग्लादेश से रोहिंग्याओं को पश्चिम बंगाल में प्रवेश कराया जाता हैं और वहां से देश भर मेंपहुंचाया जा रहा हैं। आखिर क्या है प्लान…?”
What is the truth?
When searching with relevant keywords we found that the video is not related to Rohingyas from Bangladesh.
India TV reported that the incident took place on 17, May 2023. All the children aged 8-12 years reached Kolhapur by train from Bihar and West Bengal. According to the police, all these children used to study in a madrassa in the area. Everyone had gone to their homes during the summer vacation. All together reached Kolhapur station by train. When the police got the children off the truck and checked, all the children were found to have Aadhaar card and identity card.
The video is found reported by IANS TV on 18, May 2023 in a video titled “63 children found in truck in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur, children from Bihar, Bengal came to study in Madrasa”. The description part reads “This truck standing in the pictures and these children continuously coming down from it… have come to Maharashtra to get religious education… at first sight the police thought that this is a case of child trafficking… because these children are not from the nearby state Rather have come from Bihar and Bengal.
All the children sitting in the truck are wearing caps of a particular community. But when the police stopped the truck in Kolhapur, it came to know that this is not a case of child trafficking but of religious education… That is, these 63 children have come from Bihar and Bengal to study in Madrasas in Maharashtra.” The same incident is also found reported on Channel B Youtube channel.
Lokmat Times reported that the truck driver escaped the scene when questioned by BJP youth wing members after which the authorities handed over the truck to the Shahupuri police. The children have been relocated to a children’s facility. Still, questions like why were they traveling in a truck and other details are awaiting answers from the investigation.
Conclusion
It is found that the video of children traveling to a Madarasa in Maharashtra for education is falsely shared that Rohingyas from Bangladesh are being transported.
