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The reported abduction and gang-rape of a 13-year-old girl in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, horrified India and spread quickly across Sri Lankan social media. In the outrage that followed, a stream of videos began circulating, some presented as footage of the crime itself, others as scenes of the men responsible being caught or punished. The clips were emotive and widely shared, but our checks found that they were not what they claimed to be: most are recycled from unrelated, previously reported incidents. We traced each video to its real source. Here is what we found.
Claim 1: Social Media Posts
The first video circulated as footage of the ordeal supposedly suffered by the 13-year-old girl in Rajasthan.
It also circulated further on social media as shown below.
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Fact Check:
The video shows a visibly distressed girl in what appears to be a hospital room, with several people beside her offering comfort and several uniformed police officers present. No credible or official source has reported this footage in connection with the Sri Ganganagar case, so we checked its frames using a reverse image search.
An Incident from Bilgram, Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh
We identified an Instagram post carrying the same footage, which described an abduction in the Bilgram area of Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh.
Following that lead, we found a news report stating that an 11-year-old girl had been deceived and abducted in the Bilgram area of Hardoi. The report noted that the girl’s father accused police of threatening him and failing to act as he sought justice.
Further posts about the Hardoi crime were also found, alongside Hardoi Police reports confirming arrests. Sharing details of the arrests, Hardoi Police said a case had been registered incorporating provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. X
Rajasthan Police also issued a statement on X clarifying that a viral video was being shared with a false claim, and confirming the footage was in fact from the incident reported in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh.
It is therefore clear this video shows a girl abducted in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, and was falsely linked to the Sri Ganganagar case in Rajasthan.
Claim 2: Social Media Posts
The second video showed a group of people with their hands being bound, marching along a road while being beaten. It circulated captioned as the public beating the men who abused the 13-year-old girl.
It also circulated further on social media as shown below.
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Fact Check:
We checked the video’s frames through a reverse image search.
A Video of Assaults Following a March 2026 Farm Attack in Patan District, Gujarat
We found an X post dated May 19, 2026, sharing this same video and stating it was from Patan, Gujarat. X
Our further search uncovered a news report published three months earlier referencing this video. It said the incident happened in Patan district, Gujarat, where 18 people said to belong to a gang were assaulted after the gang reportedly attacked a local farm and a police van.
This is corroborated by another report dated March 19, 2026, confirming the video shows people being beaten in retaliation for an attack on a farm in Jiliya village, Patan district. Police produced all the accused before the Patan court and remanded them until March 23.
India’s News18 also ran a fact-check confirming the video relates to a Gujarat dispute with no connection to the Sri Ganganagar case. The footage stems from a March altercation at a farm in Patan, not the Rajasthan case.
Claim 3: Social Media Posts
Another video, showing a group of people with bound hands being led away, also circulated as connected to the incident.
Fact Check:
We checked the video’s frames through a reverse image search.
An Abuse Case Involving a Minor in Kheda District, Gujarat
We found an X post, dated April 19, 2026, sharing this same video and stating, “Kheda minor abuse case: 8 arrested, investigation underway.” X
Gujarat Police arrested eight people connected to the abuse of a minor in Kheda district; per police sources, the suspects were accused of luring, abusing, and threatening the victim. A mainstream Indian media report from April 18, 2026, carried a photograph of the same individuals seen in the video. It said a minor in Kheda, Gujarat, had been abused over a period of three years, and that eight suspects had been arrested.
This confirms the footage has no connection to the Sri Ganganagar case.
Claim 4: Social Media Posts
A fourth video, shared with a similar narrative, was presented as showing five of the men responsible being hanged and killed on a roadside.
Posts using frames from this video circulated as shown here.
Fact Check:
Checking the footage through keyword and reverse image searches, we found an Instagram account, sajid_khan3286, containing several videos with these same original scenes.
The video was first posted there on June 27, as seen here (archived), with no details given about the actual event depicted.
Indian social media users commenting on it also posted that the footage was unrelated to the girl’s case and that she is alive. Our India team further confirmed that most suspects had not yet been arrested as of June 27, that the footage is a separate event, and that it is most likely from a Muharram commemoration held around the same period.
Sri Ganganagar Police Sheds Light on Unrelated Footages
Sri Ganganagar Police also issued a statement on X clarifying that the videos, photos, and reels going viral in connection with the case are entirely fake, misleading, and baseless, and confirming that the victim is safe and with her family.
The Sri Ganganagar Case at the Centre of the Online Debate
India recently reported the abduction of a 13-year-old schoolgirl in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, who was held across several hotels for five days and gang-raped. Police have so far arrested 14 people connected to the crime, including the main suspects, and state authorities have demolished all three hotels that enabled and illegally harbored it.
According to police investigations and news reports, the Grade 8 schoolgirl went missing on June 18. A three-wheeler driver whose vehicle she had boarded to return home deceived her and sold her to a local hotel owner.
Acting on a missing-person complaint from the girl’s family, Sri Ganganagar Police deployed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) that traced her through evidence, and on the night of June 22 raided the Khungar hotel and rescued her unharmed.
The case triggered intense public anger and protests across the state. The district administration moved swiftly to demolish three hotels, Hotel Khungar, Joy Inn, and Sapphire Inn, which had violated building regulations while enabling such crimes.
Sri Ganganagar Superintendent of Police Harishankar told the media that the investigation had been widened through CCTV review and that no one connected to the case would escape justice. The rescued girl is receiving medical care and counselling. Further details are available here, here and here.
Also read: Union Minister consoling the Sri Ganganagar victim? Here’s the truth behind that viral video.
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Conclusion
Our fact-check confirms that the videos circulating as footage of the gang-rape of a 13-year-old girl in Rajasthan are not from that incident. Some correspond to previously reported, separate abuse cases, while others are older footage unrelated to any abuse at all.
The investigation into the Sri Ganganagar case remains ongoing. Police have arrested several people, including the main suspects, and state authorities have demolished all three hotels that enabled and illegally harbored the crime. Police have also confirmed that the child is safe and with her family. We rate the viral videos misleading.
Title: The Truth Behind the Viral ‘Rajasthan Abuse’ Videos!
Fact Check By: B.P. Hansani
Result: Misleading
