A video that resembles a press briefing by the police has been shared on social media. The video shows gold jewellery laid out on a table. It has been claimed that an income tax raid was conducted at the residence of a priest working at the Tirupati Balaji Temple and 128 kg gold, Rs 150 crore cash and Rs 77 crore worth of jewels were recovered.

The video is widespread on Twitter and Facebook with the accompanying claim.

Photos from the alleged raid are also being circulated on WhatsApp. Alt News received a few requests to verify the video on our WhatsApp helpline number (+9176000 11160).

An article by Dainik Savera Times was shared on Zee5 website where the same images were used to support the claim.

Fact-check

An Alt News reader sent the viral claim on our WhatsApp helpline and informed us that the pictures depict a robbery incident from Vellore, Tamil Nadu.

A relevant keyword search based on the reader’s alert took us to media reports from last year. On December 21, 2021, The Hindu reported that a man was arrested after the police seized 16 kg of jewellery from a graveyard. Unidentified miscreants used a drill to make a hole in the wall of a jewellery shop. The police identified K. Raman, 23, a resident of Kuchipalayam village near Pallikonda, from the shop’s CCTV footage.

“The suspect wore a dark face mask and meticulously sprayed paint to all 12 CCTV cameras placed inside the shop. The employees found out about the theft when they opened the showroom in the morning and informed the police,” the report added.

Several other media outlets also gave coverage to the incident. (The Times of India, India Today)

News18 Tamil Nadu journalist Mahalingam Ponnusamy tweeted the same video while reporting on the robbery.

It is noteworthy that Alt News could not find any reports corroborating the claim that an income tax raid was conducted at the residence of Tirupati Balaji Temple priest.

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About the Author

Kinjal Parmar holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. However, her keen interest in journalism, drove her to pursue journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. At Alt News since 2019, she focuses on authentication of information which includes visual verification, media misreports, examining mis/disinformation across social media. She is the lead video producer at Alt News and manages social media accounts for the organization.