Is this an image of bulldozer demolishing the houses of Mira Road violence accused? Know the truth.

A day before the Pran Pratishtha of Ayodhya Ram Mandir on 22 January, violence erupted in the Mira Road area of Mumbai. This violence between the two groups continued for two days. On the occasion of Pran Pratishtha, a group of people chanting Jay Shree Ram in Mira Road were stopped by locals. This led to a violent clash and the situation escalated severely. 

According to a report, following this incident, on 23 January, Maharashtra government demolished illegal buildings in the region using bulldozers.

Against this backdrop, an image of a bulldozer demolishing a building is going viral on social media. Users are claiming that this image is from Mira Road where bulldozer action was carried out to demolish the properties of the Mira Road incident accused. 

However, Fact Crescendo found the claim to be misleading. This is an old image from Uttar Pradesh after the Prayagraj violence in 2022.

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Fact Check- 

A Google Reverse Image Search led us to the same image published on India Tv News website on 12 June 2022. According to the report, this is an image from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. This demolition was carried out on an illegally constructed residence of Javed Ahmed, the mastermind of Prayagraj violence. This violence was erupted after the derogatory remarks on Prophet Mohammad by Nupur Sharma.  

The same image was published in ABP News website in 2022. The report states that bulldozers were used to demolish Javed Ahmed’s house that was constructed illegally. 

According to the DNA India News, bulldozers demolished Javed Ahmed’s house in Prayagraj, who was a mastermind of the violence in the city. Some banners and posters were recovered from his house. Police had already arrested Javed and in their presence his house was demolished using 2 bulldozers. 

A relevant keyword search on Google led us to a report by India Today on 23 January 2024. According to the report, on the Ayodhya Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha day, communal violence erupted in Mumbai. Mira Bhaindar Municipal Corporation demolished the roadside stalls in the Naya Nagar area of Thane district using bulldozers. 

Conclusion: 

Fact  Crescendo found the claim to be misleading. Although there was a demolition drive in Mumbai after the Mira Road violence incident, the viral image is from an old incident from Uttar Pradesh.