A 35-second long clip of a mob breaking a structure is going viral on social media as a video from Pakistan where people are destroying a 100-year-old Shiva temple.
Sharing the viral clip on Twitter, Amardip Potfode, the state secretary of BJP SC morcha, wrote, “See how 100 years old Lord Shiva’s temple was demolished in Pakistan. And here the Ram Janmabhoomi temple built after the decision of the Supreme Court bothers not only the ‘green insects’ but also some so-called secular Hindus.”
देखिए पाकिस्तान में 100 साल पुराना भगवान शिव के मंदिर को कैसे तोड़ा गया ।
और यहां सुप्रीम कोर्ट के निर्णय के बाद बनने वाला राम जन्मभूमि मंदिर ना सिर्फ “हरे कीड़ों” को बल्कि कुछ तथाकथित सेकुलर हिंदुओ को खटक रहा है ।https://t.co/mPetGuIKvU pic.twitter.com/XjbSUE5qHO— Amardip Potfode – अमरदिप पोटफोडे (@AmardipSpeaks) January 12, 2023
Mahesh Kumar Srivastava, who is affiliated to the pro-BJP propaganda channel Sudarshan News, also shared the clip on Twitter with the same caption.
देखिए पाकिस्तान में 100 साल पुराना भगवान शिव के मंदिर को आतंकी रूपी पाकिस्तानियों ने तोड़ दिया।
और यहां सुप्रीम कोर्ट के निर्णय के बाद बनने वाला राम जन्मभूमि मंदिर ना सिर्फ कट्टरपंथी जिहादियों को बल्कि कुछ तथाकथित सेकुलर हिंदुओ को खटक रहा है । pic.twitter.com/xUdLIvRFmo
— Mahesh Kumar Srivastava (@MaheshKumarSTV) January 12, 2023
Another Sudarshan News journalist, Alok Jha, shared the video with the same caption.
देखिए पाकिस्तान में 100 साल पुराना भगवान शिव के मंदिर को कैसे तोड़ा गया ।
और यहां सुप्रीम कोर्ट के निर्णय के बाद बनने वाला राम जन्मभूमि मंदिर ना सिर्फ “हरे कीड़ों” को बल्कि कुछ तथाकथित सेकुलर हिंदुओ को खटक रहा है । pic.twitter.com/GAlonzhiHJ— ALOK JHA (@STVAlok) January 11, 2023
Various Twitter users have shared the video on the platform, including @Ramande77788760, @gyanveerBns, @Krashngopal61, @Imahadev92 and others. The video has also been shared by a handful of Facebook usersFacebook as well.
Fact Check
We broke down the video into key-frames and performed a reverse image search on one of the stills using Yandex. This led us to a news report by The Times Of India published in December 2020 which had a thumbnail similar to one of the frames from the viral video.
As per the report, a temple located in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was demolished by a mob led by a local cleric. It also mentions that prior to the demolition, a rally was taken out in the locality where objectionable speeches were delivered. Following the event, the mob marched to the temple and started destroying it. It is alleged that the event was carried out by a right-wing group called Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) (JUI-F).
We then looked at a news report by Dawn, as per the report the police had detained at least 14 people in overnight raids and arrested others individuals who participated in or provoked the mob to demolish the shrine. The report also adds that the local authorotoes had given permission for the temple’s renovation, which bothered the leaders.
Following the attack, Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed took notice of the incident and fixed the matter for hearing on January 5, 2021.
We found an Al Jazeera report from January 6, 2021. As per the report, the apex court ordered the government to rebuild the Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj Samadhi temple and directed that expenses be charged to a local Muslim leader who was allegedly responsible for the mob violence that led to the damage.
To sum it up, a video of a 100-year-old Hindu shrine destroyed by locals in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in December 2020 was shared on social media as a 100-year-old Shiva temple destroyed by locals.
Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people start contributing towards the same. Please consider donating towards this endeavour to fight fake news and misinformation.