A video clip of a man hammering a glass window of a train is going viral on social media with users claiming it is a ‘jihadi’ act or a ‘terrorist’ act.
X (formerly Twitter) account BhikuMhatre (@MumbaichaDon) amplified the video with the claim that the person seen in it was a “Rail Jihadi”.
Railway Minister .@AshwiniVaishnaw Ji, can this “Rail Jih@di” be booked under UAPA? Doesn’t causing intentional damage to Nation’s Property fall under “राष्ट्रद्रोह”?pic.twitter.com/vJ6GRipHxW
— BhikuMhatre (@MumbaichaDon) September 10, 2024
Right-wing propaganda handle The Jaipur Dialogues (@JaipurDialogues) reshared a tweet by a user named Dr Mouth Matters (@GanKanchi) and wrote, “Jihadis are systematically destroying our railways, what are we doing about it?”
Jihadis are systematically destroying our railways, what are we doing about it?
pic.twitter.com/sbCdVe7y6F— The Jaipur Dialogues (@JaipurDialogues) September 10, 2024
Similarly, X handle “Rubika J. Liaquat Satire” (@RubikaLiaqat) also shared the video. The tweet reached over 2.7 lakh viewers and was reshared around 1000 times.
भारतीय न्याय संहिता के अनुसार इसको कौन सजा मिलनी चाहिए?
या UAPA के तहत मामला दर्ज किया जाना चाहिए?
यह किसी आतंकवादी कृत्य से कम नहीं है ??
सारे जहरीले साँप 🐍 तो हमने अपने घर में ही पाल रखे है,
मौका पाते ही डस लेते हैं- ख़ुद देखिए 👇 pic.twitter.com/6rMku5chPK
— Rubika J. Liaquat Satire (@RubikaLiaqat) September 10, 2024
Several Right-wing X accounts, including Squint Neon (@TheSquind), Raushan Sinha (@MrSinha_), journalist of propaganda outlet Sudarshan News Sagar Kumar (@KumaarSaagar), Kreately.in (@KreatelyMedia), have amplified the claim.
Fact Check
We noticed that a user named Manthira Moorthy M (@RoboMoorthy) had responded to the tweet by @GanKanchi and explained that a routine procedure of changing a damaged window was being carried out in the video. Moorthy’s X bio says he is a senior section engineer, deputy incharge- Tirunelveli coaching depot, and incharge of Vande Bharat Express, Tiruneveli junction railway station.
Tirunelveli in Madurai division of Southern Railways has a rail coach depot.
Moorthy subsequently deleted the tweets, but readers can find screenshots of his tweets below:
In the first tweet, he said, “…It is one of the process of changing the Cracked Window Glass. He is trying to break the cracked glass for removal.” (sic) With this, he also shared a screenshot of the procedure manual where “Step 2” mentioned that one had to “break the outer glass with a hammer” and “gently develop the cracks”.
In the second tweet, Moorthy pointed out that there was no indication in the video that the man seen in it was an unauthorised person.
We also found a tweet by verified X handle Trains of India (@trainwalebhaiya), where the user made the same point. He also mentioned that this procedure took place in the maintenance depot and the person was not damaging the train but breaking an already damaged glass to replace it.. (archive)
No, He isn’t damaging the train but breaking an already damaged glass to replace it with a new one at maintenance depot, as the glass is glued tightly with the body it needs to be broken first.pic.twitter.com/RLfn2Byf1i
— Trains of India (@trainwalebhaiya) September 10, 2024
In a subsequent tweet, the user shared a similar video of a man hammering a train window glass to create a web of cracks and then removing the entire glass pane. The user added that it was standard procedure and protocol. (archive)
This is how #VandeBharatTrain glass is replaced, this protocol is followed at maintenance pits as:
• Quick & easy
• Glass glued tightly
• Less TAT for train at pit lines
Meanwhile proper procedure is followed at workshop where train goes for schedule maintenance every 2yrs. https://t.co/UHx2OWcT9C pic.twitter.com/POkBVeevow— Trains of India (@trainwalebhaiya) September 10, 2024
To further confirm this, Alt News also spoke to a former Indian Railways employee, Nilanshu Singh, who worked at a coaching complex in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. He told us, “It is clearly visible in the video that the train is on the pit line (photo below supplied by Singh). Pit lines are present in a coaching complex where trains are maintained or repaired. And the action that we can see in the video is of hammering/breaking the glass. It is done as a procedure to change the glass. I was in railways for four years and I was posted at the coaching complex itself. We used to do the same thing for the AC coaches back then if a window developed a crack or leakage. This is how we replace it with a new one… pit lines are generally elevated and in between we have the tracks. On those elevated platforms, people work. This is visible in the video.”
A relevant keyword search led us to a YouTube video that shows how to change window glass in Vande Bharat trains. This video was uploaded on March 19, 2024. In this video, one can see that to change Vande Bharat’s window glass, the first step is to hammer it down.
India Today Group Identified the Man in the Video
Various outlets of the India Today Group published reports on the viral video. Their journalists identified the man in the video as Manish Kumar from Ara, Bihar. Kumar admitted to Lallantop that the person seen in the video was him. Western Railway’s senior public relations officer Pradeep Sharma further informed the outlet that the video had been made during the maintenance of Ahmedabad-Mumbai Vande Bharat at Integrated Coaching Depot Kankaria.
“The window glass of Vande Bharat is made of toughened glass keeping in mind the safety of the passengers so that the passengers do not suffer any kind of harm if any external object hits them. During maintenance, if there is a crack in the window glass, it is broken and removed with the help of a pointed hammer. This work was being done by a contract worker. During the same time, this video was made by another contract worker,” he told Lallantop.
Hence, from the above findings, it is clear that the viral video of a man breaking the glass window of Vande Bharat Express is not an act of ‘terrorism’ or ‘Jihad’. It is a part of a basic protocol and procedure to replace damaged glass window of a train.
Ankita Mahalanobish is an intern at Alt News.
The post Vande Bharat window replacement video falsely shared as act of ‘rail jihad’ appeared first on Alt News.
This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Ankita Mahalanobish.
Ankita Mahalanobish | Radio Free (2024-09-13T11:53:16+00:00) Vande Bharat window replacement video falsely shared as act of ‘rail jihad’. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2024/09/13/vande-bharat-window-replacement-video-falsely-shared-as-act-of-rail-jihad/
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