2018 image shared as bulldozer razing construction on Govardhan Parikrama road recently.

Uttar Pradesh Police confirmed to us that no such incident took place at Govardhan Parikrama Marg area recently. The image in circulation is from 2018.

After the recent Uttar Pradesh Elections in 2022, bulldozer has become a regular sight in the state earning CM Yogi Adityanath the moniker of “bulldozer baba”. In the backdrop of this, an image of a JCB bulldozer razing a structure is widely circulating social media with a claim that the Yogi government’s bulldozer can be seen razing an illegally constructed dargah on Govardhan Parikrama road.

The caption of the post, “The illegally encroached property on the Govardhan Parikrima Marg are being cleaned by running JCB, only Yogi Baba has the ability to do this work!! #yogi baba zindabad!!”

(Hindi: गोवर्धन परिक्रिमा मार्ग में अवैध रूप से अतिक्रमण कर बनी मजारो पर J C B चला कर साफ किया जा रहा है, यह काम करने की क्षमता केवल योगी बाबा में ही है! #योगी बाबा जिंदाबाद!!)

Facebook Post 

Fact Check- 

We started our investigation by running a reverse image search on Google that led us to the same images posted by a Facebook user in November, 2018 stating that illegally constructed dargah and shrines built on Govardhan Parikrama Marg were demolished by the Yogi government. The caption of the post states, “All the illegal shrines built on Govardhan Parikrama Marg were demolished today. Keep in mind this was illegal and was created by encroaching on the SP government. There is no place for illegal activities in Yogi Rule.”

Using this information, we ran a keyword search on Google that led us to an article My Nation published on November 2018 that stated that the state government on November 12 flattened seven Islamic ‘mazars’ (mausoleums or shrines) that had come up as encroachments around the holy Girirajji or Govardhan Parvat in Mathura.

Fact Crescendo contact the CO Gaurav Kumar Tripathi from Govardhan Thana who confirmed to us that no such incident took place Govardhan Parikrama Marg area recently. The image in circulation is from 2018.

Conclusion- 

Fact Crescendo found that the viral image in circulation is being shared out of context and is misleading. The viral image dates back to an incident in 2018 when illegally constructed dargah and shrines on the Govardhan Parikrama Marg were razed down.