Did Man Throw Gas Cylinder On Railway Track To Cause Accident? No, Old Video Viral With False Claims

A video showing the retrieval of a ruptured gas cylinder meant for domestic use from under a train on a railway track is doing rounds on social media. While sharing the video, some internet users connected it to the recent triple train collision in Odisha and suggested it to be a larger conspiracy to cause similar accidents at multiple locations countrywide. Others gave it a communal spin and claimed that a Muslim man deliberately threw the gas cylinder on the rail lane before the train.

At the beginning of the 2:11 minutes-long video, a man can be seen taking out the burst cylinder from under the train, with others standing at the scene of the incident. In the next shot, the concerned authorities are talking to people regarding the matter while showing the moving trains and the ruptured parts of the cylinder. Toward the end, a separate clip has been added, in which a woman claims that the incident happened near Amla Phatak in the Haldwani city of Uttarakhand.

A verified Twitter user shared the video with the caption, "महाभारत शुरू हो चुका है और इस धर्मयुद्ध में जो धर्म के साथ नहीं हैं या न्यूट्रल दिखने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं वे वास्तव में अधर्म का सहयोग कर रहे हैं।" (English transaltion: The Mahabharata has started and in this crusade those who are not with Dharma or are trying to appear neutral are actually supporting Adharma.)

The video shared on 6 June has garnered 1.1M views, with 4,000 retweets. See the archive version here.

Another Twitter user shared the video with a caption, "इन दिनों देश में हो रहे रेल हादसों के पीछे कहीं कोई साजिश तो नहीं है ?? वीडियो में दिखाएं मुताबिक हल्द्वानी में चलती ट्रेन के आगे एक व्यक्ति ने फेंका भरा गैस सिलेंडर". (English translation: Is there any conspiracy behind the train accidents happening in the country these days?? As shown in the video, a person threw a filled gas cylinder in front of a moving train in Haldwani).

A Facebook user shared the video with a caption, "Uttarakhand haldwani : A madrasa chap threw a gas cylinder in front of a moving train !! The train accident in Odisha Balasore is also a big part of a conspiracy hatched by Jihadis. Earlier they used to kill Hindus by blasting bombs at various places, and now they now Hindus are being killed by conspiring against the railways."

The video is quite viral on Facebook and YouTube, with similar claims.

Claim:

A man threw the gas cylinder on the rail lane before the train to cause an accident.

Fact check:

The Logical Indian fact-check team verified the claim and found it false. The video is old, shot on 5 July 2022 in Haldwani. The person who threw the cylinder on the rail track was identified as Gangaram, against whom a complaint was registered by the city Railway Police.

While looking into the viral posts on different social media platforms, we found a reply to one such post by the Twitter handle of the Railway Protection Force for the Izzatnagar Division, North Eastern Railway. The RPF refuted the viral claim about a larger conspiracy to cause similar accidents at multiple locations countrywide. They clarified that the video is old, shot on 5 July 2022, and informed that as per Resub Chowki Haldwani, a case between Government vs. Gangaram had been registered under Section 174, 153 of the Railway Act under Section-131/22.

They wrote, "Sir, in relation to the said video, it was told by Uni 0 of Resub Chowki Haldwani that the said video is dated-05.07.22 (old video) in which a case has been registered against the Government vs. Gangaram under Section/174, 153 of the Railway Act under Section-131/22."

Chandrapal Singh, an RPF inspector for Kathgodam, shared the viral clip on Twitter and debunked the viral claims. He wrote in Hindi, "मैं IPF/RPF/ काठगोदाम NER. ट्रेन के नीचे सिलेंडर वाला वायरल वीडियो दिनांक 5.7.2022 का है जिसमें मामला रेल अधिनियम की धारा 153, 174 बनाम गंगाराम दर्ज है जिसमें शिकायत पत्र न्यायालय दाखिल किया जा चुका है मामला अभी न्यायालय विचाराधीन है।" (English translation: I am IPF/RPF/ Kathgodam NER. The viral video of the cylinder under the train is dated 5.7.2022, in which the case is registered under section 153, 174 of the Railway Act against Gangaram, in which the complaint letter has been filed in the court, the matter is still pending in the court.)

We also tried contacting Singh for further details but still await his response. However, Alt News, a fact-checking website, cited him saying that the incident happened on 5 July 2022, and the accused was identified as Gangaram, son of Biharilal and a resident of Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh. He was going to get his empty cylinder filled, for which he had to cross a rail lane to reach the gas-filling station. While crossing, a train came, and he ran away, leaving the cylinder on the track. After the train stopped, the RPF escort caught him, and a complaint was registered against him.

Singh added that Gangaram did not have any criminal charges against him in the past and used to work as a laborer in the Gaula River in Uttarakhand. Soon after the incident, he was arrested and sent to jail, where he stayed for around three months and was released on bail.

Conclusion:

To sum up, an old video showing the retrieval of a ruptured gas cylinder meant for domestic use from under a train on a railway track is viral with false claims. It is unrelated to any conspiracy to cause any accident and has no communal spin as the accused identified is Gangaram.

If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.

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