Old, unrelated video falsely linked to communal clashes in Mumbai suburb Mira Road

What is the claim?

A video circulating on social media platforms X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook purports to show the Mira Road railway station in Mumbai engulfed in flames. The video, accompanied by captions like “Current Situation of #MiraRoad Railway Station.. ?? #MiraRoadRiots #miraroad #Ram #jaishriram (sic),” can be found in archived forms here, here, and here.

Posts claiming the video shows the Mira Road Station in Mumbai. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Ahead of the consecration of the newly built Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22, 2023, the Mira Road locality in Mumbai experienced communal clashes. A report by The Quint dated January 24, 2023, states that tensions escalated on January 21, 2023, following an alleged attack on a vehicle rally celebrating the Ram Mandir 'Pran Pratishtha' (consecration). The ensuing unrest led to vandalism of shops and vehicles, with police interventions attempting to restore order. The next day, clashes reportedly involved stone-pelting between two groups. According to a Hindustan Times report, police have arrested 19 individuals for rioting and posting inflammatory content online.

However, our investigation reveals that the viral video dates back to at least December 2023, bearing similarities to a fire incident at a railway station in Kolkata in April 2023.

What is the truth?

A reverse image search led us to similar footage from various perspectives uploaded by news organizations like The Times of India and local West Bengal media outlet Sangbad Pratidin. These reports detail a fire at the Santoshpur railway station in Kolkata in April 2023. According to The Times of India, the fire erupted around 5:30 p.m. on April 6, 2023, destroying several small shops on the platform. The cause of the fire remained unknown, and it took firefighters several hours to extinguish it.

A comparison of the viral video and the Sangbad Pratidin video reveals both depict the same location. Notable similarities include the blue-colored roof of the platform and a narrower section of the roof directly above the fire. 

Comparison of the viral video and video of the fire at Santoshpur railway station (Source:X, YouTube/Sangbad Pratidin)

While the viral video's frame matches a user-submitted image of the Santoshpur Railway Station on Google, Logically Facts cannot independently confirm the incident's location as this Kolkata station.

Further, we discovered that various YouTube channels and Instagram accounts shared the same video as early as December 30, 2023. Considering the Mira Road clashes occurred on January 21, 2023, this strongly suggests the video does not depict a recent incident.

No recent reports of a fire at the Mira Road railway station in Mumbai could be found in targeted online searches.

Vilas Supe, senior police inspector at Naya Nagar police station, confirmed to Logically Facts that no such incident occurred at the railway station.

Additionally, the official X account of Western Railway debunked the claim in a January 24 post, providing a recent video of the Mira Road station depicting normal conditions.

The verdict

The viral video predates the recent Mira Road clashes. Moreover, the video likely depicts a fire in Kolkata in April 2023 and is falsely linked to the recent Mira Road violence. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.