Old Clip From Telangana Viral as DMK Workers Assaulting Temple Activist in TN

This video is from 2022, showing outrage over Bairi Naresh's remarks on Lord Ayyappa in Telangana.

Fact-Check: This clip is from 2022 from Telangana and not Tamil Nadu.

(Source: The Quint)

A video showing a crowd beating a guy with police attempting to stop the crowd is spreading rapidly on social media.

Those sharing claimed that temple activist Rangarajan Narasimhan, who initiated legal action against the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government for supposed misconduct in Hindu temples, was assaulted by "DMK goons" in Tiruchirapalli court.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: X/Screenshot) 

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false.

• This viral video dates back to December 2022 and shows protests against activist Bairi Naresh where one individual was assaulted by Lord Ayyappa devotees in Telangana for reportedly insulting Hindu deities.

What we found: We conducted a keyword search if Narasimhan had been attacked by DMK goons attack in Trichy however, it yielded no credible news articles or videos.

• We, then, divided the video into multiple screenshots and conducted a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• It directed us to an article on a website Sakshi Post article from 30 December 2022, featuring a frame resembling the viral video.

• The report noted that the Hyderabad city police registered a case against Dalit leader and activist Bairi Naresh for reportedly making ‘derogatory’ comments about Lord Ayyappa Swamy during a public meeting. He was charged under section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

• Hindu leader Guruswami Virender Yadav filed a complaint, insisting on prompt action against Naresh.

• Amid this controversy, Ayyappa devotees held protests throughout Telangana, urging the arrest of the Dalit leader for offending the feelings of the followers.

• We ran another keyword search and found that in these protests, an individual recognised as Balaraj was hurt.

• A group of Ayyappa devotees attacked him while protesting near Shivaji Chowk against Naresh.

• Confusing Balaraj as a part of Naresh’s group and believing he was filming the protest, they assaulted him.

• However, the police stepped in and saved Balaraj. News reports subsequently confirmed that Balaraj was not associated with Naresh’s community and had not filmed any videos, reported HM TV Telugu News and TV 9 Telugu.

Conclusion: An unrelated video from Telangana is being shared as Narasimhan being thrashed by DMK workers in Trichy.

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