India TV Fact Check: Several social media users circulated a video claiming that a man travelled 250-km hiding between the wheels of a train without a ticket. They alleged he was discovered by railway officials when the train from Itarsi to Jabalpur reached its final destination. However, when we fact-checked this claim, this claim has proved to be false.
What is going viral?
On December 27, an X user shared a video claiming to show a person who travelled 250 km by hiding between the wheels of a train.
An X user named Munesh Kumar Ghunawat shared the video with caption, "Surprising news from Indian Railways. This video is viral on social media. A man traveled 250 kilometers by sitting near the wheel under the bogie of a train. This person traveled a distance of 250 kilometers by sitting in a trolley near the wheel under the S-4 bogie of the Danapur Express train going from Itarsi to Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. During the train rolling test on the platform in Jabalpur, during the outer check, the railway staff found a person lying in the trolley under the S-4 bogie. During interrogation, the person told that he did not have money for the ticket, hence he adopted such a dangerous route for the journey. Watch this viral video of this news highlighting the poor conditions of the security system of Indian Railways. @RailMinIndia @AshwiniVaishnaw Is this your security system?"
India TV investigated
During our search we extracted the key frame from the viral video and used Google Lens to search for it. We found that several other social media users had too shared the same video with similar. We conducted a customised keyword search on Google and found a PTI report published in The Hindu on December 28. The report quoted a Railway Ministry official stating that the claim of a man traveling 250 km hiding on a train's wheel axle was "fake" and "misleading." "These reports are completely fake and baseless," said the Railway Ministry official.
"The person was hiding near the wheel axle when the train was not moving. It is practically impossible for anyone to hide on the wheelset of a moving train as it moves along with the wheels," Dilip Kumar, Executive Director, Information and Publicity, Railway Board, said. "Some news organisations and social media influencers picked it up and made it viral without verifying its authenticity," he added.
What came out in fact check?
A fact check conducted by India TV has confirmed that he viral claim about a man travelling 250 km from Itarsi to Jabalpur while sitting on the axle of a wheel of a Pune-Danapur Express train was false. People are advised to remain cautious and not believe such misleading claims circulating on social media.
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