On Saturday, 2nd February, the Prayagraj police booked several social media users for spreading fake information about the Mahakumbh. The police stated that several social media users posted an old video from Nepal to claim that there was a stampede-like situation in Mahakumbh, leading to the deaths of devotees. The fake video shared on social media also indicated that there were no ambulance facilities at the Prayagraj.
Team OpIndia has obtained 2 FIR copies registered by the Police. The sections imposed by the Mahakubh police against the accused persons are section 353 under the BNS, 2023, and section 67 of the IT Act. The police stated that the accused persons spread misinformation about the stampede and claimed that the bodies of the victims who died in the stampede were being thrown in the water carelessly after removing their kidneys.
“Kumbh Mela Police has registered an FIR and is taking legal action against the social media account that is spreading rumors by falsely claiming that the video related to the Nepal incident is from Mahakumbh, Prayagraj. Please do not post any misleading posts on social media without verifying the facts,” Kumbh Mela police warned on X.
#UPPFactCheck– नेपाल की घटना से सम्बन्धित वीडियो को भ्रामक रूप से महाकुम्भ, प्रयागराज का बताकर अफवाह फैलाने वाले सोशल मीडिया अकाउंट के विरुद्ध कुम्भ मेला पुलिस द्वारा FIR पंजीकृत करके वैधानिक कार्यवाही की जा रही है।
— Kumbh Mela Police UP 2025 (@kumbhMelaPolUP) February 2, 2025
कृपया तथ्यों को सत्यापित किये बिना सोशल मीडिया पर कोई भ्रामक… https://t.co/FxTgxOz4BZ pic.twitter.com/K6DAWdGadH
It added a screenshot of one of the users who indicated that no ambulances were present at the Mahakumbh to look after the victims or their families. “Mahakumbh_2025_Prayagraj means Mahakumbh of death… Three people from a family lost their lives in the stampede incident. The relatives are carrying the dead bodies on their shoulders. At least ambulance service should have been provided by the administration,” Brijesh Kumar Prajapati said.
In a tragic turn of events, around 30 people lost their lives while 60 were injured in a stampede at Mahakumbh on 29th January. The stampede took place when a large number of devotees gathered to take a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya. Following the tragedy, the Uttar Pradesh government has now declared the Mahakumbh Kshetra a no-vehicle zone and canceled all VVIP passes to ensure swift movement of devotees.
On 3rd February, the opposition parties also launched a bizarre attack on the Uttar Pradesh government over the stampede. Claiming massive administrative failure, Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Ram Gopal Yadav stated that “thousands were killed,” some “were thrown in Ganga,” and others “buried.”
Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan also attacked the state and said that the water in Prayagraj is now contaminated as dead bodies of stampede victims have been thrown in the holy Ganga river.
Apart from the opposition, several other social media users have also claimed that the bodies of those who died during the stampede had been thrown into the Ganga river. However, the police have called it misinformation and warned the users to stop sharing fake posts related to Mahakumbh.
SSP Dwivedi commented on the issue and said that the joint team is working to learn the motives of the accused users behind defaming the Kumbh Mela. “Mela police will thoroughly investigate all cases. We will probe these cases deeply to understand why these fake videos were being uploaded ahead of the third Amrit Snan on Basant Panchami,” Dwivedi said.
What misinformation is being spread
In one of the FIR copies obtained by OpIndia, the accused social media handle, identified as ‘tigeryadav519’ claimed that the bodies of those who died during the stampede were being thrown into Ganga river after removing their kidneys. The user also claimed that some of the alive victims were also being thrown into the river. The accused has been booked by the police.
In another similar FIR, around seven social media handles have been booked for spreading fake information about Kumbh. The accounts, as per the police, shared fake videos from Nepal to claim that three dead members of one family were being carried on the shoulders at Kumbh and the administration failed at providing ambulance service post-stampede.
The accused persons have been identified as Abhimanyu Singh, Priyanka Maurya, Akash Singh, Ashfaq Khan, Satyaprakash Nagar, Rajjan Shakya, and Brajesh Kumar Prajapati. These persons have been charged under section 353 of BNS, 2023, and 67 of the IT Act.
What caused the stampede
29th January was the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, the new moon night of the Krishna Paksha of the Hindu month of Magh. The day holds special astrological significance since the Sun and Moon are in the same Rashi of Makar or Capricorn. Taking a ritual bath on this occasion, especially at the Triveni Sangam washes away one’s sins. Due to the spiritual significance of the Shahi Snan on Mauni Amavasya, there was a huge crowd on the day the stampede happened. Reports say that about 10 crore people were heading to the Mela Kshetra to take a holy dip at that time. By 4 pm on Wednesday, around 5.7 crore people had performed the ritual bath.
The stampede unfolded at about 1-2 am when a massive crowd of devotees broke barricades and trampled on those sleeping on the ground waiting for the Brahma Muhurat at the festival. It must be noted that the crowd behind the barricade, who had just arrived, did not notice that there were people already sleeping on the ground and ended up trampling on them unintentionally.
These barricades, according to Vaibhav Krishna, Deputy Inspector General, Mahakumbh, were put up around the ghats and gave way due to the sea of humans trying to get through. Notably, some eyewitnesses later claimed that some anti-social elements with their faces covered and carrying red flags deliberately pushed people. A detailed report regarding this can be read here.
CM Yogi Adityanath took cognizance of the stampede and got emotional while speaking about the loss of lives in the stampede. “The incident is heart-wrenching. We express our deepest condolences to all those families who lost their loved ones. We have been in constant touch with the administration since last night. The Mela Authority, Police, Administration, NDRF, SDRF, and all other arrangements that could be made have been deployed there,” he said.
As per the reports, ahead of the Vasant Panchami on 2nd February, the police authorities stood deployed at the gathering and ensured proper movement of the devotees. The authorities used loudspeakers to direct the devotees to the Sangam and also asked them to vacate the area after ‘snan’ for other devotees. CM Yogi Adityanath also reviewed the arrangements on Saturday, 1st February ahead of the Vasant Panchmi and ensured the safety of the devotees.
