A photograph has been shared widely on social media with the claim that a statue of Hindu deity Hanuman has been found at the site of the five acres allotted to the Sunni Waqf Board in Ayodhya by the Supreme Court.

While digging five acres of land allotted to Babri masjid they found Lord Hanuman’s idol in the land. It shows Ayodhya is land of Lord Ram

Posted by Kalyanasundharam Annadhanam on Tuesday, December 10, 2019

“While digging five acres of land allotted to Babri masjid they found Lord Hanuman’s idol in the land. It shows Ayodhya is land of Lord Ram”, reads the viral message. The same has been posted on Twitter. The image has also been shared with a message in Telugu which reads, “అయోధ్యలో ముస్లీములకు ఇచ్చే 5 ఎకరాల భూమిలో అక్కడ పెద్ద గుంత తవ్వుతుంటే పురాతన మైన హనుమాన్ విగ్రహం బయటపడింది………..ఇప్పుడు ఏం చేస్తారు వేచి చూడాలి జై శ్రీరాం… అంటే అయోధ్య అంతటా శ్రీరామ హనుమాన్ ఆనవాళ్లు”

It has been circulating on WhatsApp as well.

FACT CHECK: NOT FOUND AT AYODHYA

The social media claim is false. The idol has not been recovered from Ayodhya, but from a site in Madhya Pradesh. Upon reverse-searching the image, Alt News found it in a news report by the Hindi publication Patrika. The report of July 2019 states that the idol was found in the village of Barkhedi Abdulla in Bhopal district of MP.

The report also contains a similar image to the one which has been shared widely as the recovery of a Hanuman idol at the site of the five acres allotted to the Sunni Waqf Board. Alt News found these images on another website, Samachar of India. This report too is of July 2019. Alt News spoke to Suresh Damle, CSP Ayodhya Nagar, Bhopal who confirmed that the idol was indeed recovered from the village of Barkhedi Abdulla in July 2019, but refused to elaborate on the incident.

It may thus be noted that the image of a Hanuman idol shared as “found during digging at the site allotted to the Sunni Waqf Board in Ayodhya”, is actually from Bhopal district in MP.

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About the Author

Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming.