Fact Check: No communal angle to the vandalization of Hanuman temple in AP
Recently, tension prevailed in Secunderabad area when a person named Salman Salim Thakur alias Salman, allegedly
temple vandalised
Recently, tension prevailed in the Secunderabad area when a person named Salman Salim Thakur alias Salman, allegedly vandalized the idol in Sri Muthyalamma Temple. He is said to have entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Muthyalamma temple near the regional passport office and desecrated the main idol of the temple. This action triggered protest by locals, shopkeepers, and also activists demanding action against him. Thousands of people participated in this protest, which led to a confrontation and police resorted to the lathi charge on the devotees participating in the protest.
Just a few days after this incident, another incident of temple vandalism in Andhra Pradesh came to light. Shri Abhaya Anjaneya Swamy temple in the Annamayya district of Andhra Pradesh was demolished by some individuals with ill intentions. The temple is situated in Kadirinathunikota village in Mulakacheruvu mandal, 3 km inside the forest area. The temple was demolished along with its gate and walls. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu considered the incident seriously and asked the police to conduct a thorough investigation, and take strict action against the accused.
The video showing the damaged temple is being shared on social media, especially X, with the narrative that the temple was vandalized by Islamist jihadists from Telangana.
These posts shared the video with the caption in Hindi “हृदयविदारक आंध्र प्रदेश के चि
When translated, it claims “Heartbreaking. Some miscreants vandalized the Hanuman temple at Malakalacheruvu in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. Islamist Jihadis in Telangana and conversion mafia in Andhra Pradesh, are doing things like this and destroying the peace. “
Fact Check:
The claim is False. There is no communal angle to the vandalization of the temple in Annamayya district.
When we extracted keyframes from the video and performed a Google reverse image search, we found several media reports from the Telugu states.
According to a report published in Prajashakti, the incident took place due to a dispute in financial transactions between Harinath Yadav and Vidya Sagar, both priests. The temple was demolished using explosives by a priest of another nearby temple, Harinath Yadav. Harinath schemed a plan to demolish the temple and remove Vidya Sagar as the main priest of the temple.
According to a report in Telangana Today, Harinath Yadav wanted to take Abhaya Anjaneya Swamy temple under his control to get its income but priest Vidyasagar did not agree. Angry over this, Harinath planned to blow up the temple thinking that this would force the priest to run away from the place. As per his plan, the accused spread a rumor that there is a treasure trove under Abhaya Anjaneya Swamy temple
The police found that Harinath, along with five others, conspired and blew up the temple with explosives. The explosives did not detonate properly due to rain, so the temple got tilted to one side.
Therefore, the claim that the Abhaya Anjaneya Swamy temple in the Annamayya district of Andhra Pradesh was vandalized by people belonging to other communities is False.