India's thumping victory against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup match was a joyous occasion. Indians celebrated the victory after a nail-biting match on Sunday, which was quite a turnaround by led by Virat Kohli. Even as the entire nation celebrated the sport victory, the anti-national elements used it to create unrest in J&K.
A claim about a house belonging to a Kashmiri Pandit being burnt down after India defeated Pakistan in the T20 World Cup match has gone viral. However, the truth couldn't be further from it.
The claim
As per some social media posts and WhatsApp forwards, a house belonging to a Kashmiri Pandit in Kashmir's Mater area of Kupwara district was gutted in the fire. The reason for the fire was credited to India's victory against Pakistan.
In the incident, the house of Janki Nath of Batgund in north Kashmir got burnt down and in no time the entire house was engulfed in the blaze. The locals rushed to douse the flames and the three fire engines joined the efforts. The fire was brought eventually under control.
But the viral claim attributed to the India vs Pakistan match was spread without verification, trying to create some unrest in the valley. The claim also suggested IED was used to set the house ablaze.
Fact check
International Business Times reviewed the claims in the viral posts and investigated the cause of the fire at Nath's residence. The Kashmir police swiftly jumped into action to probe the incident and found no IED at the site. Instead, the house was being used to store urea, grass and other dry materials. There was a gas cylinder as well. All of these elements made the fire go out of control.
"A house belonging to one individual named Janki Nath, R/o Batagund, caught fire. The house was being used by two locals 1. Ab Rashid War S/o Ali Mohd War 2. Gh Hassan War S/o Wali Mohd War R/o's Batagund (with the consent of the owner) for keeping grass and other dry materials, which appear to have caught fire," the police said in a statement.
Hassan War had been acting as caretaker of the house for the last eight years with the consent of the homeowner, the police added.
The police even registered an FIR at Qalamabad police station on Sunday and a forensics department collected samples from the site to ascertain the point of origin and cause of the fire. But no foul play is suspected.
Hence, IBTimes has arrived at the conclusion that the fire incident in Handwara involving a Kashmiri Pandit's home has nothing to do with India's victory against Pakistan in T20 WC match on Sunday.
