Fact Check: Was A Woman’s ‘Rs 1.5 Lakh Gold Necklace’ Snatched At Mahakumbh?
A video of a crying woman has been shared online, claiming she was robbed of her jewelry at Mahakumbh. The woman is heard saying, ‘Somebody pushed me; someone took that away.’
- The Verdict: False The video is from December 2024, where a woman was crying about her “lost necklace” at a mass marriage programme held in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh.
What is the claim?
A video of a crying woman has been shared online, claiming she was robbed of her jewelry worth Rs 1.5 lakh at the Mahakumbh festival, a congregation of Hindu devotees being held in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj from January 13 to February 26.
In the video, the woman can be heard saying, “Somebody pushed me; someone took that away.” Another person then asks, “Where have you come from?”
A Facebook user shared the video with a caption, “Look, this woman’s gold necklace worth ₹1.5 lakh was stolen at the kumbh mela. Now, the question is, why did she even wear a gold necklace there? Was she there to take a holy dip in the Ganga or to roam around? Fairs are known to attract thieves too. She should have been aware of this.” Archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.
However, the claim is unrelated to the Mahakumbh. The video is from a ‘mass marriage’ ceremony held in Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi city in December 2024, where the woman alleged that she was robbed.
What did we find?
A reverse image search led us to a video posted by Hindi news outlet Live Hindustan on its YouTube channel (archived here) on December 16, 2024. The now-viral clip can be seen at 2:25 seconds. According to the video description, a mass wedding was held in Hardoi, where, despite police presence, a woman raised an alarm that someone snatched her gold necklace.
News18 Hindi reported that the incident happened at the Mukhyamantri Samuhik Vivah Yojana (Chief Minister Mass Marriage Scheme), held on December 14, 2024, at the CSN PG College, Hardoi. The news report included an image of the woman.
A local news media outlet, Uttar Pradesh Times, identified the woman as Lakshmi Srivastava and added that she was attending her brother-in-law’s wedding. The police registered a case but found the necklace at her home during the investigation. The woman later said that she had left the necklace at home by mistake and that there was no case of robbery. On December 15, 2024, the official X account of the Hardoi Police shared the woman’s statement (archived here) that she found her necklace at her own home.
The verdict
An unrelated video of a woman alleging theft during a mass marriage event held in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, has been falsely shared as an incident of robbery during the ongoing Mahakumbh festival.
This story was originally published by Logically Facts as part of the Shakti Collective. Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by ABP Live staff.
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