A social media post (herehere, and here) featuring a photo of a group of people is being widely shared, claiming that a boy from Karnataka was beaten by locals in Haryana for speaking Kannada instead of Haryanvi. Let’s verify the accuracy of this claim.

 

Archived post can be seen here

Claim: Visuals show a Karnataka boy beaten by locals in Haryana for speaking in Kannada instead of Haryanvi.

Fact: The incident occurred in Bengaluru, Karnataka, not Haryana. A scuffle broke out at Gabru Bistro & Café on 02 February 2024, between a food delivery agent and restaurant staff over a delay in service. The delivery agent claimed he was attacked after asking the staff to speak in Kannada, while the restaurant owner alleged he was abusive. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.

First, we searched the internet using relevant keywords but couldn’t find any reports of such an incident in Haryana. We then conducted a reverse image search of the photo featured in the viral post, which led us to several national news articles (herehere, and here) and Kannada news articles (here and here) featuring the same visuals. 

According to these reports, the incident occurred at Gabru Bistro & Café in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on 02 February 2024. A scuffle broke out between the restaurant staff and a food delivery agent over a delay in the food order. Both the delivery agent and the restaurant owner filed complaints against each other, resulting in two First Information Reports (FIRs) being registered at Soladevanahalli Police Station. According to the FIR (here) filed by the delivery agent, Naveen, he questioned a worker about the delay, but the worker allegedly abused him in another language. When Naveen asked him to speak in Kannada, he was allegedly attacked by the worker and other hotel staff. Naveen also claimed that he was taken to an area without CCTV cameras, where he was severely beaten before being rescued by other delivery agents. 

 

However, the restaurant owner, Jatin Gupta, alleged in his complaint (here) that Naveen abused the hotel staff over the delay, manhandled a staff member named Abid, and threatened to kill him and vandalise the restaurant. The Soladevanahalli police told The Times of India that they were investigating the matter. We also contacted the Soladevanahalli police and will update the case status based on their response. 

Furthermore, our investigation revealed that the viral post was initially shared by a satirical Instagram handle named “The Bindu Times”, which explicitly mentioned that the post was satire. 

 
 

To sum it up, visuals of a scuffle at a Bengaluru restaurant over a food order delay are falsely shared as an incident of a Karnataka boy being beaten in Haryana for speaking Kannada.

(This story was originally published by factly.in, and republished by english.varthabharati.in as part of the Shakti Collective)

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Bhatkal: Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly U. T. Khader visited Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district on Saturday and attended a local cricket match being played as part of a tournament organised by the Cosmos Sports Centre of Bhatkal.

After attending a programme at Anjuman Hami-E-Muslimeen, Khader proceeded to the Bhatkal Taluka Stadium, where the tournament is underway. He was accompanied by office-bearers of the Cosmos Sports Centre and several local community leaders.

Those present during the visit included President of Majlis-e-Islah Wa Tanzeem and former JD(S) leader Inayathullah Shabandri, Vice President of Tanzeem Atiqur Rahman Muniri, General Secretary Abdul Raqeeb MJ, President of Cosmos Sports Centre Ismail Anjum, Managing Director of Mohtisham Complexes S. M. Arshad, former president of the Bhatkal Muslim Youth Federation Imtiyaz Udyawar, among others.

Addressing players and organisers, Khader extended his best wishes to the participating teams and urged the players to uphold the spirit of sportsmanship. He said such tournaments help promote unity and brotherhood among the youth.

The cricket tournament began on November 21 and will conclude with the final match on December 21. It is being organised as part of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Cosmos Sports Centre.

Cosmos Sports Centre is one of the member clubs of the Bhatkal Muslim Youth Federation and is known for its active role in promoting sports in the town. Apart from sporting activities, the centre is also involved in various social and community initiatives, including efforts to promote education among students.