Sudarshan TV tweeted a video claiming that three temples were vandalised in Dwarka, Delhi. “Another temple was gripped by hate,” read its tweet. (Archive Link)https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=aqib_starlin&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1381882750240653313&lang=en-gb&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.altnews.in%2Fdelhi-man-angry-with-god-defiles-hanuman-idols-sudarshan-news-adds-false-muslim-angle%2F&sessionId=dca30ced1aa07627d363b9558093566562938d8e&siteScreenName=AltNews&theme=light&widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&width=550px
The channel uploaded a second video where the reporter is showing the state of the temples and asking locals what went down. (Archive Link)
Sudarshan News editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke tweeted the same ground report and blamed ‘jihadis’ for the vandalism. (Archive Link)https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=aqib_starlin&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1381973598332616714&lang=en-gb&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.altnews.in%2Fdelhi-man-angry-with-god-defiles-hanuman-idols-sudarshan-news-adds-false-muslim-angle%2F&sessionId=dca30ced1aa07627d363b9558093566562938d8e&siteScreenName=AltNews&theme=light&widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&width=550px
BJP Delhi social media head Naveen Kumar made the identical claim. (Archive Link)https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=aqib_starlin&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1381881941348265985&lang=en-gb&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.altnews.in%2Fdelhi-man-angry-with-god-defiles-hanuman-idols-sudarshan-news-adds-false-muslim-angle%2F&sessionId=dca30ced1aa07627d363b9558093566562938d8e&siteScreenName=AltNews&theme=light&widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&width=550px
The incident drew protests by Vishva Hindu Parishad members in the West Delhi area. VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal had tweeted a protest video.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=aqib_starlin&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=true&id=1381871476463136768&lang=en-gb&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.altnews.in%2Fdelhi-man-angry-with-god-defiles-hanuman-idols-sudarshan-news-adds-false-muslim-angle%2F&sessionId=dca30ced1aa07627d363b9558093566562938d8e&siteScreenName=AltNews&theme=light&widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&width=550px
Sudarshan news correspondent Nimit Tyagi, Twitter user @AchAnkurArya, and BJP member Sandeep Thakur further amplified the claim.
No communal angle
DCP/Dwarka, Delhi replied to Sudarshan News that accused Mahesh was arrested from the same locality and the incident does not have a communal angle. “He was aggrieved on God due to inadequate rainfall,” said the police.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=aqib_starlin&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=true&id=1381951459684589569&lang=en-gb&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.altnews.in%2Fdelhi-man-angry-with-god-defiles-hanuman-idols-sudarshan-news-adds-false-muslim-angle%2F&sessionId=dca30ced1aa07627d363b9558093566562938d8e&siteScreenName=AltNews&theme=light&widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&width=550px
We found several news articles on this incident. According to The Indian Express, “The accused, Mahesh (50) of Bharat Vihar JJ colony, is a cobbler, police said. The matter was reported by a priest on Tuesday morning who first spotted the damaged Hanuman idols at three adjacent spots in Kakrola, a senior police officer said.”
This wasn’t the first time Sudarshan News communalised an incident. The channel recently claimed that Muslims entered a Hindu place of worship in Maharashtra’s Malanggad and disrupted aarti. Muslims had entered the Hahi Malang Dargah, which is regarded as a temple by a section of the Hindu community. Earlier this month, Sudarshan News had also communalised a clash between Muslim groups in Uttarakhand’s Jaspur Dargah. A compilation on the channel’s sectarian disinformation can be read here.
Fake News Library 