Fact Check: Misleading Video claiming Police brutality against Ayaappa Devotees

Recently on various WhatsApp groups, a misleading video & text is being shared a lot. An old video of an unrelated protest is being shared claiming police brutality against Ayyappa devotees at the Sabarimala shrine, to create a misleading narrative.

OUR FACT CHECK

Fact Crescendo team did a fact check on this issue. We did Google Reverse Image search & Google search of the message text and found many references online. We also researched various WhatsApp groups, Facebook & Twitter handles to see who were sharing and commenting on this hoax message.

We found the following:

• This video is not of police atrocities against Ayyappa Devotee but an old video taken in June 2017, of the protesters clash with police at Puthuvype, Kochi, Kerala.

Source: Reporter Live

Our readers can know more about the protesters clash with police at Puthuvype, Kochi, Kerala by reading & viewing the link(s) below:

The Hindu
The Wire
The News Minute
TOI

Source: Asianetnews
Puthuvype Protest: Dozens injured as police resort to lathicharge | News Hour 18 June 2017:

Source: Nadeem Kottalath

Source: Asianetnews
7 Years old boy gives statement against Yathish Chandra IPS on attack against Puthuvype protesters:

English.mathrubhumi.com

• This misleading video is trying to create a biased narrative in reference to the ongoing issue at the Sabrimala Temple, nestled in the hills of Pathanamthitta of Kerala.

“The protests have Lord Ayyappa devotees on one side, who cite tradition to oppose a Supreme Court judgment overturning a ban on the entry of women into the temple. On the other side, the fight has been spearheaded by women rights activists, who are determined to visit the shrine and uphold the SC’s judgment allowing women of all ages to enter.

The SC’s landmark judgment on came on 28 September, and declared the ban on women ages 10-40 entering the temple ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘discriminatory’.

The 4:1 judgment was delivered by a five-judge bench consisting then CJI Dipak Misra and Justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, with Malhotra dissenting.” Source: The Quint

Our readers can know more about the Sabrimala Temple issue viewing the links below:

Economic Times
News Laundry
Daily Hunt
The Wire
BBC
The Quint

IN CONCLUSION

Fact Crescendo team tags these kinds of posts as Misleading. These kinds of misleading posts or messages will be shared across by many people using WhatsApp and other social media applications again & again, but we as readers should be aware of the confirmation bias in the narrative.

Fact Crescendo advises its readers to refrain from falling prey to unsubstantiated & misleading WhatsApp forwards and social media posts. When in doubt, visit various news media & fact checking websites online.

 

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Thanks,

-Fact Crescendo Team-