Mentally unstable Hindu man thrashed near Andhra temple; video goes viral with false ‘Muslim conspiracy’ narrative

by Shinjinee Majumder

A video of a man repeatedly saying Jai Sri Ram is viral on social media. In the clip, he is seen being confronted by a mob outside a temple. Some men and a woman thrash him with sticks. The man keeps repeating Jai Sri Ram even as he takes evasive action.

Right-wing propaganda outlet OpIndia published a report claiming that the man was a Muslim and he had been caught trying to desecrating a Hindu temple. Titled “Andhra Pradesh: Muslim Man Caught Attempting to Desecrate a Hindu Temple, Islamists Spread Misleading Claims Defaming ‘Jai Shri Ram’ Chants,” the article cites an NDTV video report on the incident. However, it is important to note that the NDTV report makes no mention of the man’s religious identity. Here is an archive of the report.

X handle @MeghUpdates, which shares communal misinformation on a regular basis, tweeted that the accused was a ‘radical caught red-handed’ and was part of a bigger conspiracy to attack the Ramalayam temple in Bhimavaram. A list of names of Hindu temples was also allegedly found on him. (Archive)

Verified account @ssaratht claimed that the man apprehended in the case was a Muslim. The tweet got over 3,00,000 views and over 4,000 retweets. (Archive)

Several other users, including verified handles like @MithilaWaala, @AngrySaffron, and @Sagar4BJP, amplified the claim that the accused was a Muslim. (Archives- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

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A few activist handles on X also claimed that a Muslim man had been beaten up and forced to chant Jai Sri Ram. (Archives- 1, 2)

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Several other X handles tweeted the viral video and made similar claims. ( 1, 2, 3, 4)

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Fact Check

Alt News found a tweet by the West Godavari Police which stated that a case had been registered in regards to the issue. The tweet mentioned the First Information Report Number of the case. We obtained a copy of the FIR and found that the individual was identified as 35-year-old Polumati Dileep, who belonged to the Scheduled Caste and hailed from Ravulapalem in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.

The FIR states that Dileep, who had mental health issues, approached the Ramalayam temple on October 31 and engaged in public misconduct. Due to considerations regarding his mental health, there was a delay in filing the FIR.

Alt News also spoke with the inspector of Bhimavaram II Town police station, who confirmed our findings. He clarified that the claims portraying the accused as a radical Muslim were misleading. According to the inspector, Dileep was a homeless man who wandered from place to place collecting plastic and other recyclables. The list found on Dileep, which contained names of Hindu temples, was simply a record of temples offering free food. The police dismissed allegations of a larger conspiracy and informed us that Dileep had been sent to a mental hospital by order of the magistrate.

We also found a local report by The Federal which identified the accused as a Hindu. The report also stated that Dileep was wandering around the temple on the day of the incident when a couple of passers-by questioned him. He could not answer in clear intelligible language which raised suspicion about him and eventually he was attacked by a mob.

To sum up, a mentally unstable Hindu man found wandering near a temple was beaten up in Andhra Pradesh by locals. A video of the incident is falsely viral on social media with some claiming a conspiracy and identifying the man as a Muslim.

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About the Author

Student of Economics at Presidency University. Interested in misinformation.