News Channel And Social Media Falsely Claim Muslims Arrested For Vandalising Hindu Idols In Bulandshahr

On June 1, more than 12 idols of Hindu deities were vandalised by some miscreants in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. According to the report, the incident occurred in Baral village in Bulandshahr district. Local police started investigating the matter by scanning CCTV footage in the area.

Claim:

After the video of the incident went viral, several images and videos of broken idols went viral on social media with a communal spin claiming that people from the Muslim community vandalised four temples in Bulandshahr, UP.

A Twitter user named We the People @ajaychauhan, who often spreads fake news, shared this video and wrote, "Four temples in Bulandshahr were attacked and idols vandalized last night. Fake reports of attacks on churches/mosques become international news. They start calling Hindus intolerant. When will there be news on the attacks on our temples? Orgy of Jihadis in UP's Bulandshahr, Shivling, along with idols of 5 temples, were broken. Big question, when will the Taliban terror on Hindu temples stop in India?"

Another Twitter blue user wrote, "More than 12 different idols of Hindu deities were vandalized in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh across four different temples, reportedly over 100 years old, by unknown miscreants. They are attacking our culture, They are attacking our temples, They are attacking our daughters, Meanwhile we are only allowed to seat in the backseat and watch as our destruction unfolds, or else we will be labeled as intolerant, communal and so on."

Sudhir Chaudhary, the anchor of Hindi news channel Aaj Tak, shared this incident on 2 June 2023 in his show 'Black and White'. During the show, he did not directly mention that the Muslims had broken the idols. However, he told the population of Hindus and Muslims of Bulandshahr in the show. Then he insisted that Bulandshahr is the same district from where Mohd. Sahil Khan was arrested, who killed Sakshi in Delhi posing as Rahul.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian fact check team verified the claim and found it false as the four accused involved in vandalizing the idols at the four temples in the Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh (UP) belonged to the Hindu community. Further, there was no communal angle involved in the matter.

We began our investigation by looking for media coverage using specific keywords, leading to several reports related to the matter. According to The Quint article published on June 9, the four accused of vandalizing religious idols have been identified as Hindus and taken into custody. Further, regarding the matter, an FIR has been registered against unknown people under Section 153A / 295/505 (2).

As per the report titled in Hindi, "बुलंदशहर: 4 मंदिरों की 17 मूर्तियां तोड़ने वाले 4 हिंदू युवक गिरफ्तार, 3 फरार (English translation: Bulandshahr: 4 Hindu youth arrested for demolishing 17 idols of 4 temples, 3 absconding) the incident occurred on June 1 in the Baral village of Gulavathi Kotwali area of ​​Bulandshahar district in UP. The accused named: Ajay, Harish, Keshav, and Shivam, were drunk on May 31 night and allegedly demolished the 17 idols of four temples.

A Dainik Bhaskar report titled in Hindi, "बुलंदशहर में मूर्तियां खंडित करने वाले आरोपियों का कबूलनामा:बोले- क्षतिग्रस्त मूर्तियों की हो रही थी पूजा, नई मूर्तियां लगें इसलिए तोड़ दीं, 4 आरोपी गिरफ्तार" (English translation: Confession of the accused who vandalized idols in Bulandshahr: Said- Damaged idols were being worshipped, idols were broken so new can be installed, 4 accused arrested) carried the confession of the four men.

As per the report, the accused said they had broken the idols so that the new ones were installed in the temples, as the broken ones were being worshiped in the temples. Many times demands were made to replace the idols, but no one was doing anything. Furthermore, Bulandshahr Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shlok Kumar stated, "Four teams were formed in the matter of breaking the idols. CCTV footage installed in the village and temples were collected, and the forensic team was engaged. After this, these four youths were arrested. When interrogated, these people have given strange reasons behind carrying out the incident."

We also found a Twitter post by the official handle of Bulandshahr Police on June 8, wherein they shared a press release that carried the same information as in the media reports.

In another Twitter post, they shared a video statement of SSP Kumar, who confirmed the arrest of the four accused. He mentioned that incident was spearheaded by Harish, who often hosted the other three, and they drank alcohol together.

Conclusion:

To sum up, the accused who vandalized the religious idols at the four temples in the Bulandshahr belonged to the Hindu community and have been taken into custody, and the police are still looking for the absconding three. Further, the viral claim is false as the matter has no religious angle.

If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.

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