A video showing a mob thrashing Hindu priests is going viral on social media to claim that it shows Muslims in Karnataka attacking Hindu priests.
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(Source: X/Screenshot)
(Archives of more claims can be seen here and here.)
What's the truth?: We found out that this video is from Guha village in Maharashtra.
It shows a communal clash but the location in the claim is incorrect.
This dispute took place after the Hindu priests used loudspeakers during their rituals on a land where Kanifnath temple and a dargah stand in close proximity.
How did we find out the truth?: We performed a reverse image search on Google and came across a news report by News18 Marathi shared on 13 November 2023.
The report carried the viral video along with another video of the same incident but from a different angle.
It stated that the video was from the Kanifnath temple situated in Guha village of Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.
The video is from Guha village of Maharashtra.
(Source: News18 Marathi/Screenshot)
We found another Marathi report by Dainik Bhaskar's Divya Marathi which carried a screenshot from the viral and it stated that this fight took place on a land where the Kanifnath temple and a dargah are situated in close proximity.
It added that the ownership claims over this land have been asserted by both the communities, Hindus and Muslims, and that the matter is currently awaiting resolution in a local court.
We found another report by Hindustan Times shared on 14 November 2023, which carried a statement of Rakesh Ola, Ahmednagar's superintendent of police (SP).
According to Ola, on the occasion of Somvati Amavasya on 13 November, a group of Hindus reportedly entered the Kanifnath Devasthan and conducted religious rituals loudly which brought in objections from the Muslims in the locality.
The report also included another quote by Basavraj Shivpuje, sub-divisional police officer, Srirampur range, who stated that two FIRs for this matter have been registered and 62 have been people being booked.
We located the area on maps: We found Kanifnath Temple on Google maps and found visuals which matched the ones seen in the viral video.
The video is from Maharashtra.
(Source: Altered by The Quint)
We checked both the FIRs: One of the FIR filed at Rahuri police station was against 59 people.
The FIR mentions that the people from the Muslim community were abused by the Hindu priests of the Kanifnath temple when they requested them to lower the speaker volume.
The suspects were booked under Sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence), 296 (disturbing religious assembly),143 (unlawful assembly),147 (rioting),148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 4 (25) of the Arms Act.
Another FIR filed by the priests mentions that the people of the Muslim community attacked them for performing rituals at the temple.
This FIR has been filed against 62 people under Sections 143, 147, 323, 324, 504, 506, and 427 of the IPC.
We have reached out to the police for more details and the story will be update once we receive a response.
Conclusion: A video showing a communal clash in Maharashtra is being falsely shared as from Karnataka.
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