On Saturday, the Prayagraj police booked various social media users for spreading fake information about the Mahakumbh. The police said 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.
According to the media reports, 2 FIR copies were 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 ssid 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.
It added a screenshot of one of the users who stated 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.
Around 30 people lost their lives while 60 were injured in a stampede at Mahakumbh on 29th January. The stampede happened when a large number of devotees gathered to take a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya. 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 said 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.
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.
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