No, Muslim Men Didn't Attack A Temple Priest And His Family In Rajasthan

A disturbing video of a man being brutally beaten up by a group of men has gone viral on social media. While sharing this video, people on social media claimed that some Muslim fundamentalists attacked a temple priest and his family who were preparing for Mahashivratri at Selaswar Mahadev Temple in Dudu, Rajasthan.

A twitter user shared the video with the claim, "राजस्थान में खतरे में हिन्दू समाज !! महादेव मंदिर पर मुस्लिम कट्टरपंथियों का हमला !! मंदिर के पुजारी और उनके परिवार पर भी कट्टरपंथियों ने किया हमला। महाशिवरात्रि की तैयारी कर रहे थे पुजारी और उनका परिवार। घटना राजस्थान के दूदू स्थित सेलास्वर महादेव मंदिर का।"

[English Translation: Hindu society is in danger in Rajasthan!! Attack of Muslim fanatics on Mahadev temple!! The fundamentalists also attacked the priest of the temple and his family. The priest and his family were preparing for Mahashivaratri. The incident took place at Selaswar Mahadev Temple in Dudu, Rajasthan.]

[Trigger warning: The Logical Indian is not embedding the tweet due to its graphic nature. You can access the video here.]

Claim:

The viral video shows a Muslim group attacking a temple priest and his family.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian fact-check team verified the viral claim and found it false. Both the accused and the victim belong to the Hindu community.

Using InVid's Keyframe Analysis tool, we isolated the keyframes of the viral video and performed a reverse image search on the keyframes. This led us to a report of Aaj Tak dated February 19, 2023, where a still of the viral video can be seen. According to the report, The incident occurred in front of Bhadwasia Hospital in Jodhpur, where the victim Jugraj(48), who was a lawyer by profession, was returning home on his bike when the two accused, Anil and Mukesh, stopped his bike and began beating him and attacking him with a knife three to four times. The victim lost a lot of blood due to his serious injury. The entire incident was captured on CCTV, and police apprehended the accused.

On searching further, we came across a news report of Dainik Jagran, which mentions that the victim's daughter, Purnima, said that two youths first called her out of the house, then surrounded him while he was riding a bike and started attacking with a knife. After this, the accused crushed his head with stones. The report further mentions that Jugraj's son died in an accident three years ago, in which Anil and Mukesh are named as accused. It is being told that the accused were having a dispute with the lawyer regarding some plot. The same lawyer has been fighting the case of his son's death for the last three years.

On February 19, 2023, the news agency ANI tweeted about the same incident, stating that a CCTV video of a lawyer being stabbed to death in Jodhpur had surfaced. According to Jodhpur ACP Nazim Ali Khan, this incident was carried out by Anil Chauhan and Mukesh Chauhan. The suspect has been arrested, and an investigation is currently underway.

We also came across a tweet from the official Twitter handle of DCP East Jodhpur. While replying to a user, it mentioned that the incident was a matter of mutual dispute and that the accused had been arrested.

Conclusion:

The harrowing incident showing a man being stabbed to death by two men has no communal angle. The accused is from the Hindu community, ruling out any targeted hate crime against Hindus. Hence, the viral claim is false.

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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