Did this shop owned by a Bihari man set on fire in Tamil Nadu? Fact Check

Some social media posts have been sharing a clip of a man setting a shop on fire with a claim that the person targeted a store in Tamil Nadu belonging to a migrant from Bihar. The video has gained wider currency amid allegations of violence against Hindi-speaking people in Tamil Nadu, which were denied by the Tamil Nadu state government.

The Facebook message reads:”A shop of a Bihari brother was burned in Tamil Nadu,” in Hindi. The video clip shows a man calmly walking to a shop with its name showing clearly in Malayalam and suddenly pours a bottle of liquid on the counter and lights a fire. A picture of the unidentified man was superimposed on the video clip with a crying emoji. See the clip:

The clip has gone viral and was shared here and here as a move to park panic among the migrants in the state of Tamil nadu.

FACT CHECK

As mentioned, the shop has clearly shown its name in Malayalam language as “Meenakshi Lotteries Tripunithura” and not in Tamil, if it had happened in Tamil Nadu. Secondly, a simple Google Reverse Image search showed that the actual incident happened in a shop of a lottery agent and the accused TS Rajesh was later arrested as per the local police sub-inspector, Satheesh Kumar of Tripunithura police station in Kerala.

A man named Rajesh set a lottery shop on fire after threatening on Facebook.

It happened on Saturday in Tripunithura, Kerala. pic.twitter.com/3TJ9BmJCKR

— Drunk Journalist (@drunkJournalist) March 6, 2023

Hence, the claim that this incident happened in Tamil Nadu is totally false.

Claim: A shop of a Bihari brother was burned in Tamil Nadu.
Conclusion: Wrong video clip from Kerala used to support the claim

Rating: Misrepresentation —