Jharkhand student protests began on 25 July 2026 over alleged irregularities in the 14th JPSC Preliminary and JSSC-CGL examinations, including allegations of OMR tampering. Led by student leader Devendra Nath Mahto, protesters have demanded cancellation of the exams and an independent CBI probe. On 10 August 2026, thousands of students marched towards the Jharkhand Assembly, where police used lathi charges and water cannons. The government has since agreed to cancel three JPSC examinations, but students continue to demand a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities. As of 13 August 2026, the protests have entered their 20th day, with Mahto continuing his hunger strike and political support for the movement growing (here, here, here, and here).

Amid this, a video is being shared on social media (here, here, and here) with the claim that it shows Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers pelting stones during the Jharkhand student protest in an attempt to defame the ongoing movement. Let’s verify the claim made in the post in this article.

The archived post can be found here.

Claim: The video shows BJP workers pelting stones during the Jharkhand student protest in an attempt to defame the ongoing movement.

Fact: The video is unrelated to the ongoing Jharkhand student protests. It actually shows a clash between BJP and Congress workers outside the Congress office in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on 21 February 2026, during which both sides reportedly engaged in stone-pelting. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.

A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led us to a news report published on TheSootr’s YouTube channel on 22 February 2026 that featured the same visuals. According to the report, the video is from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, where BJP and Congress workers clashed outside the Congress office on 21 February 2026, with stone-pelting reported from both sides. This confirms that the viral video predates the Jharkhand student protests and is unrelated to the ongoing movement.

We found multiple other reports (here, and here) covering the incident. According to these reports, the BJP had announced plans to surround Congress offices in several cities in response to the controversial ‘shirtless’ protest by Youth Congress workers during the India AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi. On 21 February 2026, the situation in Indore escalated when BJP youth workers arrived to surround the Congress office and confronted Congress workers who were already present. Heated sloganeering between the two sides soon escalated into a clash, with stones, tomatoes and water bottles thrown from both sides. A sub-inspector and several media personnel were injured, and police used water cannons to disperse the protesters. Police later registered counter FIRs based on complaints from both sides at Pandharinath police station and began an investigation using CCTV footage.

We geolocated the exact place where the clash took place near the Congress party office in Indore and identified that the viral video was recorded near 2 Indore-Khandwa Road, Indore, Madhya Pradesh. A signboard for “Mica Planet” visible in the background of the video matches the location seen on Google Maps Street View. The comparison can be seen below.

To sum up, an old video of a BJP-Congress clash in Indore is shared as BJP workers pelting stones during the Jharkhand student protest.