Video of Vandalised Durga Idol in Hyderabad Shared With Misleading Claim

DCP Central Zone Hyderabad Akshansh Yadav told the press that there was no communal angle to the incident.

A video showing a broken idol of Hindu deity Durga, with offerings strewn across the shrine, is being widely shared on social media, where users are expressing outrage over the incident.

The claim: The video is being shared with text in English which reads, "Outrageous: Maa Durga idol vandalized in Hyderabad.. Not Pakistani Hyderabad but Congress ruled Indian Hyderabad (sic)."

• The post was shared by X (formerly Twitter) premium subscriber '@MrSinha_' — a user who has previously been called out for posting disinformation.

His post gathered over 6.6 lakh views at the time of writing this report.

(Archives of more posts sharing this claim can be seen here, here, and here.)

But...?: The claim lacks context.

• The vandal was identified as Krishnaiah Goud, who the police referred to as a "vagabond" with an "unsound mind."

• He reportedly committed the act as he was looking for food or some money.

How did we find out the truth?: Using Google Lens, we ran a reverse image search on the video.

• This led us to a report by Telangana Today, which carried several screenshots of the viral video.

• It mentioned that the incident took place at a pandal (a temporary pavilion) at Exhibition Ground in Hyderabad's Nampally.

• Speaking to the press, Hyderabad Central Zone DCP Akshansh Yadav identified the vandal as Krishnaiah Goud, a "vagabond" from Nagarkurnool district, the report said.

• Goud reportedly confessed that he had gone to the venue "in search for food" but when he did not find any, "he got angry and vandalised the idol and damaged the pandal," said DCP Yadav.

• Another report by India Today mentioned that the man was "mentally unsound," and corroborated that Goud was looking for food.

The DCP also dismissed any communal angle to the incident in a report by The Siasat Daily.

We also came across the same information in a video byte by DCP Yadav in an X post by media agency ANI, where he added that Goud entered the pandal around 3 am.

#WATCH | Hyderabad, Telangana: DCP, Central Zone Akshahsh Yadav says, "In the morning around 6:00 am we got a call that the Durga Mata idol which has been kept in the exhibition ground, the right hand has been damaged and the 'prasad' and other items kept at the feet of the idol… https://t.co/Omskp4nvEL pic.twitter.com/dbcUvBCt41

— ANI (@ANI) October 11, 2024

Conclusion: The Durga idol at Exhibition Ground in Hyderabad's Nampally was vandalised by one Krishnaiah Goud, a "vagabond" who was looking for food.

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