Claim: A video shows two men and their motorcycle being dragged under a dumper truck’s front tyres for a few hundred metres after it hit them and tried to speed away in Karachi.
Fact: The video is from India, not Pakistan. The accident took place on 23 December 2024 in Agra and the dumper truck driver was arrested.
On 19 February 2025, Soch Fact Check received a video on WhatsApp showing two men screaming for help while stuck under the front tyres of a tanker with their motorcycle, but the heavy vehicle continued driving on. The accompanying caption reads as follows:
“یہ ڈمپر مافیا کی بدمعاشی دیکھیں ایک زندہ انسان ڈمپر کے ٹائر کے نیچے پھنسا ہوا ہے اور وہ اسے جان بوجھ کر رونتا ہوا اپنا ڈمپر بھگا رہا ہے اسے انسانی جان کی کوئی پرواہ نہیں ہے جبکہ لوگ اس کو اوازیں دے رہے ہیں یہ انتظامیہ کیا سو رہی ہے یہ ویڈیو ارباب اختیار تک پہنچائی جائے تاکہ اس ڈمپر مافیا کی بدمعاشی کو لگام ڈالی جائے
[Watch this dumper mafia’s brutality. A living person is trapped under the tyres of a dumper and he deliberately continues driving his dumper while trampling him. He has no concern for human life, even though people are shouting at him [to stop]. Is this administration sleeping? This video should be relayed to the authorities so that the brutality of this dumper mafia can be curbed.]”
Deaths by dumpers
Over the past few weeks, Karachi has witnessed a significant rise in accidents involving dumper trucks, prompting calls for road safety standards and the regulation of heavy vehicles. In multiple instances, people protested by setting dumper trucks on fire.
On 8 February 2025, The Express Tribune quoted traffic police reports as noting that “at least 39 people” were killed this year “in accidents involving heavy vehicles, including water and oil tankers, trailers and dumper trucks”.
According to a 14 February 2025 report in The News, at least 108 people have been killed in traffic accidents in Karachi this year. Prior to that, the Edhi Foundation said that as of 5 February, 14 individuals lost their lives in crashes and 100 others were injured in the metropolis, according to Dawn.
Moreover, a police report presented during a press conference held on 18 February stated that 7% of “Karachi’s accidents involve dumpers”.
The problem persisted last year as well when a December 2024 report quoted the Karachi police chief, Additional Inspector General (AIG) Javed Alam Odho, as saying that nearly 480 people were killed in traffic accidents that year and that 50% of those crashes “were caused by dumpers, water tankers, minibuses, trailers and other heavy vehicles”. At the time, he had also noted that 7,000 drivers were arrested and 350 vehicles impounded.
Not only that but, according to a 3 May 2022 report by Dawn, at least 46 lives were lost in accidents involving heavy vehicles, such as dumper trucks, trailers, oil and water tankers, buses, minibuses, and coaches during the first four months of that year.
Karachi mayor, Sindh governor respond
Responding to the recent rise in accidents, Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui termed the drivers as “monsters” in an X (formerly Twitter) post on 6 February, adding that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) wrote a letter to Odho “to ensure that heavy traffic is strictly regulated in Karachi & heavy dumpers are not allowed to ply on roads during the day”.
Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori also criticised the vehicles as “bloodthirsty dumper trucks” and said he wrote two letters, one each to Sindh Police Inspector-General (IG) Ghulam Nabi Memon and Sindh High Court (SHC) Chief Justice.
In his letter to Memon, he asked the officer to ensure “the movement of heavy traffic within the urban limits as per working hours” and to “order strict action against drivers who flee after accidents”.
In the letter to the judge, the governor requested that those involved be brought to justice. “The escape of most of the drivers responsible for the accidents is a question mark on the law enforcement agencies and the accountability process,” he said.
Consequently, the Sindh government on 9 February 2025 barred heavy vehicles, especially dumper trucks, from operating during daytime, instructing them to drive between 11 pm to 6 am instead. It also introduced a Vehicle Inspection and Certification System (VICS) to contain the rise in road accidents.
Transporters’ groups issue threats
Just days after the Sindh government’s decision to bar heavy vehicles, the All Dumper Truck Transport Owners Association Sindh (ADTOAS) on 11 February announced a protest in Karachi, with its president, Liaqat Mehsud, threatening to lay siege to the country’s financial hub and blocking its entry and exit points “from all four sides”.
Not a single vehicle would be allowed inside Karachi, Mehsud warned, saying he had 15 heavy vehicle owners’ alliances — including Karachi Goods Carriers Association (KGCA), Sindh Goods Truck Trailer Owners Association, and Water Tankers Association — supporting him; these included those who drive oil and water tankers, buses, as well as loading, dumper, and trawler trucks. “We’re all united,” he said.
Arab News journalist Naimat Khan pointed out that an old report by SAMAA News had identified Mehsud as one of the men involved in “the illegal water supply” in Karachi and part of the “water mafia” that distributed polluted water to the city’s residents.
The same day, the Water Tankers Association suspended Karachi’s water supply and the All Pakistan Transport Association (APTA) lambasted the government of Sindh for “making inflammatory statements”. The transporters also claimed to be victims of “a conspiracy” as their vehicles were targeted.
This is not the first time Mehsud and other transporters have made such threats, having done so multiple times in the past.
On 14 February, the Sindh government succumbed to pressure from the powerful transporters’ groups and relaxed the ban timings after a meeting they held with Sindh Information and Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Sindh Interior Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, and Sindh Excise and Taxation Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla.
Political parties united in condemnations
On the other hand, various political parties have condemned the accidents involving dumper trucks, criticising the “dumper mafias” and demanding action against the truck drivers.
Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H) Chairperson Afaq Ahmed condemned the dumper truck accidents, claiming that 92 lives were lost in just 40 days in Karachi. However, he was “picked up” shortly afterwards, with a party spokesperson saying they were not informed about where he was taken.
The action against Ahmed came a day after the threats by Mehsud, who subsequently thanked the Sindh government and police and accused the politician of incitement to violence. IG Memon confirmed that the MQM-H leader was arrested for “instigating people” and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also supported the decision.
Ahmed told reporters outside an anti-terrorism court (ATC) that “he was being punished for raising his voice for Karachi”. He was ultimately granted bail on 21 February.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and the Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan (JIP) accused traffic police “of taking bribes to allow heavy traffic to move freely in the city during daytime” in their remarks on the issue. The latter party also staged protests at 15 locations across the city.
The MQM-P claimed that 89 citizens were killed in traffic accidents in January 2025; on 17 February, its senior leader, Dr Farooq Sattar, said the number had risen to “over 100” when taking the first two months into account. The party demanded an independent commission be set up to probe the fatalities, condemned Ahmed’s arrest, and made jibes at the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
Mustafa Kamal, an MQM-P leader and former mayor of Karachi, demanded Ahmed be released and blamed the Sindh government for its “poor governance”. He also called for victims’ families to be paid compensation.
Khawaja Izharul Hassan, an MQM-P lawmaker, also slammed the Sindh government for letting the “ruthless dumper mafia get away with murder in Karachi” and arresting Ahmed.
Muttahida Quami Movement-London (MQM-L) Convener Mustafa Azizabadi condemned the PPP’s behaviour, saying the provincial authorities were in cahoots with the killer dumpers and the “people being crushed” were not the government’s priority.
Nadeem Nusrat, a former MQM-L convener and currently the chief of Voice of Karachi (VOK) and the South Asia Minorities Alliance Foundation (SAMAF), also criticised the Sindh government for considering dumper drivers their “guests” and imprisoning those who spoke out against the injustices.
Actions, decisions, recommendations
On 17 February, Governor Tessori said he wrote a letter to CM Shah “over the reckless driving of dumper, truck, and water tanker drivers in Karachi”, requesting the formation of “a high-level commission” to “identify the reasons and determine the responsible parties so that the accused can be brought to justice according to the law”.
Among the decisions taken were a “crackdown on unfit commercial vehicles” across Sindh, mandatory “valid fitness certificate” and “registration of all heavy transport vehicles”, as well as “strict action against illegal and unregistered dumpers”. Other measures include medical examination of drivers and the formation of a Road Checking Committee to check documents, such as “registration book, route permit, fitness certificate, and driving licences of the commercial vehicles, including dumpers and water tankers, which are plying in the province in contravention of the Motor Vehicle Ordinance, 1965 and Motor Vehicle Rules, 1969”.
The provincial government also warned transporters that certificates issued by their counterparts in Punjab, Balochistan, or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would “not be considered valid in Sindh”.
Separately, two of the 15 resolutions passed in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s City Council on 21 February “highlighted concerns over such traffic accidents” and demanded “strict legal action against drivers involved in such accidents, a complete ban on heavy traffic movement during daytime, and strict enforcement of traffic laws”.
Meanwhile, common citizens have criticised the government and police for only engaging in talks and negotiations with the transporter groups and letting the “drivers and their backers [go] scot-free” but not taking any action against them. Many have demanded that First Information Reports (FIRs) be registered against Mehsud, while others have called for the Traffic Engineering Bureau to be reinstated.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check observed that the video has “Agra” — a city in India — written in the top-left corner and Hindi text “न्यूज FK” or “News FK,” on the top-right.
Upon viewing the video closely, we also identified text on the truck, including the name “Shree Ram Transport Corporation” and the words “CW 31256 TN Delhi 42 M9…”; this indicated that the clip is from India.
We then searched social media for “News FK” and found its YouTube channel, where the same video (archive) was posted on 24 December 2024. It is titled “AGRA TRUCK ACCIDENTS ट्रक घसीटता रहा लड़के ज़िन्दगी के लिए बिलखते रहे रोड पर चलने से डर लगेंगा #shorts”. The Hindi portion translates to: “The truck kept dragging the boys and they kept crying for their lives. They will be scared to walk on the road.”
Soch Fact Check then looked up “Agra truck accident” on Google and found multiple reports that included either the same video or screenshots from it in their stories or thumbnails.
According to a 25 December 2024 video report by NDTV India, two people were “stuck in front of a truck” and shouted for help but, instead of stopping, the driver kept on “increasing the speed”.
A day prior, on 24 December, India Today reported that the two men “were going towards Rambagh from Waterworks when they met with an accident around 11 pm Sunday”. They were dragged for approximately 500 metres but were saved by locals, it added.
The men were identified as Zakir and Rabbi, “both residents of Nunhai in Agra”, while the driver was named as “Deepak from Firozabad”.
We found that the accident actually occurred on 23 December 2024, after coming across a video posted on X by Madan Mohan Soni, an independent journalist, who said the truck driver “tried to escape” and “passersby started screaming” as they witnessed the horror unfold.
आगरा (यूपी) में एक ट्रक ड्राइवर ने बाइक सवार युवक को पहले टक्कर मारी और भागने की कोशिश करने लगा,
भागते हुए ट्रक में मोटर साइकिल और युवक दोनों फँस गए। दोनों युवकों को ट्रक वाला कई मीटर तक घसीटता हुआ ले गया, राहगीरों की चीखें निकल गई। pic.twitter.com/uCNLZ66dwY
— Madan Mohan Soni (आगरा वासी) (@madanjournalist) December 23, 2024
A few hours later, Soni shared a clip showing “the celebration of that truck driver being beaten up by the public” and wrote that the two men were being treated in the hospital. The people who had gathered managed to “stop the driver from running away”.
The same day, Agra Police posted a video statement regarding the incident, with the assistant commissioner of police (ACP) for Agra’s Chatta circle, Hemant Kumar, explaining that “legal action [was] being taken”. They also confirmed that the truck driver was taken into custody and a case registered against him.
The two men were “in stable condition”, the Agra ACP added. According to The Times of India, Chatta Police Station Inspector Pramod Kumar told the Press Trust of India (PTI) that the dumper truck was also “seized after the incident”.
In an interview, Mint quoted Zakir as saying that the dumper truck driver hit the accelerator “as soon as we crossed” it and then “our bike got stuck under it and so did our leg”.
Soch Fact Check, therefore, confirms that the viral video is not from Karachi but from Agra in India.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found the video posted here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook.
It was also shared here, here, here, here, and here on X and here on YouTube.
Conclusion: The video is from India, not Pakistan. The accident took place on 23 December 2024 in Agra and the dumper truck driver was arrested.
Background image in cover photo: Muneer ahmed ok
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com