Multiple pictures of a badly wounded priest are being circulated on social media with a claim that the seer was brutally assaulted and attacked at his mutt in Vrindavan. The claim further adds that the locals in the area have identified the attackers as ‘Bangladeshis’.
However, we found out that the priest was injured after an internal fight ensued between him and the disciples of the current president when they tried to open a room which he had locked. The police has rubbished the claim of any ‘Bangladeshi’ being involved.
CLAIM
Users on Facebook and Twitter shared the pictures of the priest and wrote thatTamal Das (the priest who was injured) was thrashed by ‘goons’. It was also alleged that two ‘assailants are told to be Bangladeshis’ while the others were ‘outsiders’.
The same story was also shared by OpIndia Hindi, a website which has been called out several times for peddling fake news. The article was based on a Facebook post which has now been taken down.
A few users shared the same story on Facebook with a similar claim but without the mention of ‘Bangladeshis’.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
The Quint got in touch with the Station House Officer (SHO) of Vrindavan Police Station who told us that the fight was an internal matter and no ‘Bangladeshis’ were involved.
SHO Sanjeev Dubey said, “The fight happened between the ex-President Tamal Das and the disciples of the current president over a locked library. Das had locked a room and when the others tried opening it, a fight ensued.”
Dubey also added that an FIR has been registered in the matter and three people, who have been identified as – Govinda, Jagananath and Sachidanand – have been arrested. He also clarified that no outsiders, except a security guard who has not yet been arrested, was involved.
He also came across a clarification posited by Mathura police on its official Twitter account in the matter.
The clarification added that the incident happened on 11 May in Vrindavan’s Imlitala Gaudiya Mutt. It too, added that the fight broke out over a locked room.
In the recent past, multiple attacks on seers and priests have been given a communal spin. Earlier in April, an attack on two seers and their driver in Palghar was communalised. However, The Quint’s WebQoof team had debunked the false claims and found out that they were lynched on suspicion of theft and child-lifting rumours by the locals.
Similarly, this incident is being linked to ‘Bangladeshis’ and ‘goons’ while the reality is that it was an internal fight.
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