Murder Of Youth For Refusing To Play Holi Peddled With False Communal Spin
CLAIM: A Muslim youth was lynched in a library by Hindutva men in Rajasthan for refusing to play Holi.
FACT CHECK: BOOM found that three youths killed Hansraj Meena in Rajasthan's Dausa district after he refused to apply colour on them. The deceased and the murder accused in this incident belong to the tribal community.
A viral video claiming a Muslim man was lynched inside a library by Hindutva men in Rajasthan for refusing to celebrate Holi is false.
BOOM found that the victim a 25-year-old youth, Hansraj Meena is from the tribal community and the accused are also from the same community. The communal narrative in the video is false.
The video shows three individuals attacking a youngster inside a library. It is being shared with the caption, "In Rajasthan, a Muslim man was beaten to death by Hindus inside a library for refusing to play Holi."
A Muslim man was lynched inside a library by Hindutva men in Rajasthan, India, because he refused to play Holi pic.twitter.com/Bba3TF09Tr
— Zia Uddin Jabed (@ziajabed97) March 14, 2025
Archive link.
Hindus are the most dirtiest creatures on earth.
— Mohammed Ullah (@Mohamme61667711) March 14, 2025
With their fucking hindutva!
A Muslim man was lynched inside a library by Hindutva men in Rajasthan, India, because he refused to play Holi.
pic.twitter.com/xITAB4PALK
Archive link.
Fact-check
BOOM conducted a reverse image search on key frames from the viral video, and found a news report by Dainik Bhaskar dated March 14, 2025, which also featured the same video footage.
According to the report, on the afternoon of March 12, a fight broke out among students over playing with colours at a public library in Ralwas village, Dausa district, Rajasthan.
During the dispute, 25-year-old Hansraj Meena refused to participate in the colour festivities, which led to three students—Ashok, Bablu, and Kaluram—assaulting him.
Meena, who lost consciousness from the beating, was taken to the government hospital in Lalsot, where doctors later declared him dead.
ASP Dinesh Aggarwal from Lalsot provided details to Indian Express, confirming that the altercation occurred around 4 pm on March 12, resulting in Meena suffering a head injury, which led to his death. The attackers were identified as Ashok, Kalu, and Bablu, as shown in the CCTV footage.
Rajasthan police deny communal narrative
BOOM also reached out to Ramgarh Pachwara SHO Ramsharan Gurjar who denied the communal claim.
"On March 12, a fight broke out between boys of the Meena community in Ralwas village over applying colour. Nobody from any other community was involved in this incident. The deceased and the accused belong to the Meena community. So far, one accused Bablu has been arrested in this case, the search for the other two accused is on," Gurjar told BOOM.
(This story was originally published by boomlive.in, and republished by english.varthabharati.in as part of the Shakti Collective)
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
