A video showing a train overflowing with people is going viral across social media with the claim that it shows candidates of the Preliminary Eligibility Test (PET) hanging on to trains in a rush to the exam centres.
The Preliminary Eligibility Tests were conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission on the 15th and 16th of October. The PET has led to a huge rush of passengers at several bus depots and railway stations of Uttar Pradesh as many candidates travelled towards and away from their exam centres.
Claim:
The viral video shows several people hanging from a train as it speeds along. The people can be seen hanging precariously from the train.
The translated caption with the viral video reads, "See this picture of independent India in the video PET candidates."
The post is viral across Facebook and Twitter with a similar claim.
Dainik Bhaskar reporter Komal Nigam tweeted the video with the claim, "Heartbreaking video...it is not correct to attend exams while facing such dangers, but this should not be a compulsion. If the government had made some provisions for the people, the view would have been different."
News channel News24 tweeted segments from the video connecting it to the UP-PET exam.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress General Secretary and leader of the Indian National Congress tweeted the video with the claim, "Due to the huge chaos in the UP PET exam, you will be blown away by the problems being faced by the students, but the BJP government is not taking action. The anti-youth government charges the youth for the exams, but it is neither able to provide jobs nor freedom from chaos." Later, she deleted the image. Below you can see the screenshot of viral tweet.
Fact Check:
The Logical Indian fact-check team verified the viral claim and found it to be false. The viral video dates back to 2018.
We used InVid's Keyframe Analysis tool to isolate the keyframes of the viral video. We then conducted a reverse image search on the keyframes and came across a video titled, '#train ये नज़ारा केवल पटना में ही देखने को मिलेगा।। #crowd' (This sight can only be seen in Patna).
The video was uploaded by user Neeraj Anand on February 27, 2018. The description stated that the train crowd was of passengers travelling from Gaya to Patna.
This indicated that the video in question is not recent and dates back to at least 2018.
We also came across a report by News18, which used a screen-grab from the viral video as the thumbnail. The News18 report was published on October 6, 2019.
In our Fact Check, we also came across a tweet by North Central Railway published on October 15, 2022. The tweet cautioned against spreading rumours while tagging Congress Secretary Priyanka Gandhi.
The caption of the tweet notes, "With reference to @priyankagandhi''s tweet (now deleted), it is clarified that coach number 40042 of MEMU train has not passed Prayagraj today, and this image has nothing to do with the UPPET exam."
Info Uttar Pradesh Fact Check, the fact-check wing of the Uttar Pradesh government, also countered the viral claims in a tweet published on October 15, 2022.
The tweet reads, "Some accounts are presenting a misleading picture of chaos in the examination on social media platforms by displaying a video of a Mumbai local regarding PET conducted in Uttar Pradesh. PET is being conducted completely transparently and systematically in Uttar Pradesh."
Conclusion:
In our Fact Check, it became clear that the viral video dates back to 2018. Meanwhile, the UP-PET exams were held in Uttar Pradesh on the 15th and 16th of October 2022. The claims by netizens have been countered by governmental agencies in UP reiterating that the train was not recently ferrying passengers to the exam centres. Thus, we can ascertain that the viral video is misleading.
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