(Trigger Warning: Blood and injury)
A video showing a bleeding man sitting on the floor while a commotion takes place in front of him inside a temple is going viral on social media.
The claim states that the Kerala police in Sabarimala temple thrashed a devotee.
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(Source: X/Screenshot)
How did we find out the truth?: On performing a reverse image search on some of the keyframes of the video, we came across an Instagram post shared by the Kerala police.
The police shared the video and clarified that this incident is not from Kerala.
The caption in Malayalam said, "This incident of spreading images of attacking Ayyappa devotee did not happen in Kerala. It has been noticed that this video is being spread widely on social media as if it happened in Kerala. The State Police Chief has instructed to take strict action against those who spread such fake videos."
Taking a cue, we performed a relevant keyword search which led us to news reports about this incident.
A report shared by India Today on 12 December also carried an image of the same injured man.
The article stated that temple guards at the Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, allegedly attacked devotees from Andhra Pradesh.
The fight started when the guards instructed the devotees to stop chanting 'Govinda,' a traditional chant associated with Venkateshwara Swamy.
The same was reported by The Indian Express and it carried a post shared by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state chief K Annamalai.
He pointed fingers at the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) department and said, "BJP Tamil Nadu's Trichy district unit will today hold a protest outside the Srirangam Ranganatha Swamy Temple against the Tamil Nadu HR&CE department, demanding the strictest action against those spoiling the sanctity of the Temple."
Commotion at Sabarimala temple: Kerala witnessed massive protests over the 'mismanagement' at the Sabarimala temple after an extremely high footfall of pilgrims recorded this year.
The protests started a day after an 11-year-old girl died after falling unconscious amid the trek to reach the shrine at Sabarimala.
The Kerala High Court directed the authorities to ensure necessary support to the pilgrims.
Conclusion: A video of an injured man from a temple in Tamil Nadu is being falsely shared as from Sabarimala temple, Kerala.
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