Are Gurjars protesting in support of Kalyan Bainsla? Here are the facts

Thirty-three-year-old Kalyan Bainsla, the main accused in the Gurugram hit-and-run case, was allegedly drinking all night and partying before he rammed his car into a woman’s bike. Bainsla and his cousin were arrested after the incident, recorded by the victim’s mounted camera, went viral.An FIR was registered against Bainsla at Gurugram’s Sector 56 police station under Sections 125 (act endangering the life or personal safety of others) and 281 (rash driving) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. An attempt-to-murder charge was later added.A video now going viral allegedly shows men from Kalyan Bainsla’s Gurjar community taking to the streets in his support. News outlets like MoneyControl, The Daily Jagran, and the Free Press Journal published articles featuring screenshots from the viral video, claiming it showed the Gurjar community's support for the accused.India Today Fact Check, however, found that the video has been online for more than a year and is unrelated to the Gurugram hit-and-run case.OUR PROBE A reverse search of the video’s frames led us to the same clip uploaded to an Instagram page on May 5, 2025. This confirmed that it predates the incident, which took place on September 13.We found the earliest version of the clip on the Instagram page of Abhay Baliyan, dated April 20, 2025. Baliyan appears to be the same person seen wearing a white turban in the viral video. The post featured the hashtags “jaat” and “jaatmovie”. Neither post had any additional details about the event or its location.Notably, while this particular video does not show the Gurjar community demonstrating in his favour, Bainsla is not without support. A mahapanchayat has reportedly been called in his support. Residents of his village, Tikri Gurjar, located in Haryana’s Palwal district, have called the dominant narrative around the case one-sided. Social media is also full of posts backing him.Thus, it is clear that this video is unrelated to the Gurugram hit-and-run case. As of September 18, there are no credible reports of a rally in Kalyan Bainsla’s support.- EndsPublished By: Pathikrit SanyalPublished On: Sep 18, 2026 18:15 IST