ISKCON Temple near Odisha train crash site falsely labelled as mosque; Social media posts shares with false communal spin
New Delhi, June 4 (Abhinav Gupta / Pratyush Ranjan PTI Fact Check): A Facebook user shared a photo of the aerial view of the accident site where the recent triple train crash occurred in Odisha’s Balasore on June 2. The user pointed to a structure near the railway tracks, claiming it was a mosque, insinuating that a particular community was responsible for the tragedy. In its investigation, the PTI Fact Check Desk found that the structure in the photo was an ISKCON temple and not a mosque. The social media post was shared with a false communal spin.
The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, carrying around 2,500 passengers, and goods train in Odisha’s Balasore on Friday left 275 people dead and over 1,100 injured.
Claim
A Facebook user shared on June 3 an aerial view image of the accident site where the recent train crash took place in Odisha’s Balasore and pointed out at a nearby structure, claiming it was a mosque.
“ट्रेन हादसा शुक्रवार को हुआ है और हादसे की जगह एक बड़ी मस्जिद है. बाकी आप समझदार हैं #उड़ीसा_ट्रेन_हादसा,” read the post.
An English translation of the post read: “The train accident happened on Friday, and there is a big mosque at the accident site. Rest you are sensible #Orissa_train_accident.”
