Did CJP protesters attack India's new hydrogen train? Here's the truth behind the viral video

A video widely shared across social media on Monday claiming to show CJP protesters pelting stones at India's newly launched hydrogen train is misleading. The footage is not from the hydrogen passenger train operating on the Jind-Sonipat route in Haryana and has no connection to recent student protests.

The claim surfaced days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched India's first hydrogen-powered passenger train on July 17.

Social media posts alleged that protesters targeted the eco-friendly train, smashing its windows and triggering panic among passengers at a railway station in Haryana.

However, a verification of the viral clip shows that the claim is false.

The footage actually shows a blue WAG-12B electric freight locomotive being hit with stones at Patliputra railway station in Bihar around a month ago. The incident was reportedly linked to delays affecting railway examination candidates and predates the launch of the hydrogen train.

Fact-checkers pointed to several visual differences between the locomotive seen in the video and the newly introduced hydrogen passenger train. The viral footage features a heavy freight locomotive with a distinctly different front profile, colour scheme and design, making it impossible for it to be the hydrogen train launched this month.

The misleading posts falsely claimed that miscreants attacked the hydrogen train while it was travelling on the Jind-Sonipat route in Haryana, shattering windows, triggering a stampede and prompting action by the Railway Protection Force and local police.

However, no official statement or railway advisory confirms any such attack on the hydrogen train or on the Jind-Sonipat route.

The false narrative also attempted to link the incident to ongoing protests by members of the CJP at Delhi's Jantar Mantar over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination. There is no evidence connecting the viral video to those demonstrations.

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The episode is the latest example of an old video being repurposed with a false context during a politically sensitive debate. As discussions around education reforms and student protests continue, unrelated visuals have repeatedly been circulated online with misleading captions to amplify misinformation.

Verdict: The viral claim is false. The video does not show CJP protesters attacking India's newly launched hydrogen train. It depicts an earlier stone-pelting incident involving a WAG-12B electric freight locomotive at Patliputra station in Bihar and has no connection with the hydrogen passenger train operating in Haryana.