Fact Check: This video DOES NOT show priests attacking Muslims for bringing beef to temple
This March video is from Jyotiba Temple in Kolhapur, and the clash was between priests and devotees. There was no communal angle.
India Today Fact Check
A video of a brawl at a temple is going viral on social media. Allegedly, Kolhapur Mahalakshmi Temple priests got into a fight with a few Muslim men who entered the temple premises with beef.
Sharing the video on X, one person wrote, "A major controversy erupted at the famous Mahalakshmi Temple in Kolhapur. A group of Muslims entered the temple premises carrying beef and shouting 'Allah Hu Akbar'. Abduls attempted to throw the meat toward devotees during ongoing religious activities, creating panic and outrage among worshippers present at the site. Pandits thrashed them with coconuts".
India Today Fact Check found that while the video is from Jyotiba Temple in Kolhapur, this clash occurred between priests and devotees. There was no communal angle to the incident.
OUR PROBE
Upon reverse searching keyframes from the viral video, we found several news reports. One of them was a report by The Times of India, published on March 24.
According to it, the police booked 17 priests and 17 devotees after a fight broke out on the afternoon of March 22 at the Jyotiba Temple in the Wadi Ratnagiri village in Panhala tehsil of Kolhapur.
The report stated that according to the FIR lodged at Kodoli police station, some devotees threw a broken coconut mixed with gulaal toward a priest. This led to an argument that later turned into a fight. However, both priests and devotees gave different versions of what triggered the clash.
India Today Fact Check then spoke to Kodoli Police Station’s Assistant Police Inspector, Chetan Masutage, who told us that there was no Muslim involvement in the incident and that it was only a minor clash between devotees and priests.
India Today Fact Check also spoke to Jotiba Temple priest Nitin Lade, who confirmed that the claims about Muslims bringing meat into the temple premises and shouting religious slogans were false. He alleged that a group of people had entered the temple after drinking alcohol and started abusing the priests, which led to an argument.
According to him, one of the drunk men raised his hand at a priest, after which other priests also came in support, and a scuffle broke out between both groups.
Later, temple authorities intervened and defused the situation. However, after some time, the group allegedly threw gulaal at the priests again, which led to another clash. Police later arrived at the spot and took action.
Hence, it is clear that the viral claim about Muslims bringing meat into the temple premises and shouting religious slogans is false.
A video of a brawl at a temple is going viral on social media. Allegedly, Kolhapur Mahalakshmi Temple priests got into a fight with a few Muslim men who entered the temple premises with beef.
Sharing the video on X, one person wrote, "A major controversy erupted at the famous Mahalakshmi Temple in Kolhapur. A group of Muslims entered the temple premises carrying beef and shouting 'Allah Hu Akbar'. Abduls attempted to throw the meat toward devotees during ongoing religious activities, creating panic and outrage among worshippers present at the site. Pandits thrashed them with coconuts".
India Today Fact Check found that while the video is from Jyotiba Temple in Kolhapur, this clash occurred between priests and devotees. There was no communal angle to the incident.
OUR PROBE
Upon reverse searching keyframes from the viral video, we found several news reports. One of them was a report by The Times of India, published on March 24.
According to it, the police booked 17 priests and 17 devotees after a fight broke out on the afternoon of March 22 at the Jyotiba Temple in the Wadi Ratnagiri village in Panhala tehsil of Kolhapur.
The report stated that according to the FIR lodged at Kodoli police station, some devotees threw a broken coconut mixed with gulaal toward a priest. This led to an argument that later turned into a fight. However, both priests and devotees gave different versions of what triggered the clash.
India Today Fact Check then spoke to Kodoli Police Station’s Assistant Police Inspector, Chetan Masutage, who told us that there was no Muslim involvement in the incident and that it was only a minor clash between devotees and priests.
India Today Fact Check also spoke to Jotiba Temple priest Nitin Lade, who confirmed that the claims about Muslims bringing meat into the temple premises and shouting religious slogans were false. He alleged that a group of people had entered the temple after drinking alcohol and started abusing the priests, which led to an argument.
According to him, one of the drunk men raised his hand at a priest, after which other priests also came in support, and a scuffle broke out between both groups.
Later, temple authorities intervened and defused the situation. However, after some time, the group allegedly threw gulaal at the priests again, which led to another clash. Police later arrived at the spot and took action.
Hence, it is clear that the viral claim about Muslims bringing meat into the temple premises and shouting religious slogans is false.