Clip of Temple Vandalism in Delhi Shared With False Communal Spin

ACP Punjabi Bagh said that the accused, who has been identified as one Vicky Mal and is a Hindu, has been arrested.

A video of an incident that took place at the Vaishno Mata Temple in Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh area on Saturday, 3 April, in which a 28-year-old man allegedly threw stones at the temple, is being given a false communal angle.

ACP Punjabi Bagh Vijay Chandel told us that the accused, who has been identified as one Vicky Mal, a ragpicker, has been arrested. He further told us that Mal threw stones at the temple because he was “angry with God”.

CLAIM

The claim along with the video states that a “special community” is responsible for the incident.

The claim reads: “पंजाबी बाग थानाक्षेत्र के माँ वैष्णो देवी के पवित्र मन्दिर में तोड़फोड़, एक विशेष समुदाय के द्वारा किया गया लेकिन अब कोई कुछ नहीं बोलेगा, secularism की बात है। इन लोगो पर FIR कब होगी”

(Translated: Vandalism at the holy temple of Maa Vaishno Devi in Punjabi Bagh area. This was the handiwork of a special community but no one will speak now. It is a matter of secularism. When will there be an FIR on these people.)

The claim is also being shared on Facebook and WhatsApp. (You can view an archived version of the post here.)

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

• After analysing the CCTV footage, the police found that Mal was responsible for the incident and that he had a ‘grudge against God’.
• ACP Chandel said that there was no communal angle to the incident and that the accused was a Hindu.

Taking a cue from the claim being shared along with the video, we searched for news reports with keywords ‘Punjabi Bagh Vaishno Devi temple’ and came across an article by The New Indian Express dated Sunday, 4 April.

The incident took place on Saturday when a 28-year-old man, identified as one Vicky Mal, allegedly threw stones at the Vaishno Mata Mandir in Punjabi Bagh as he was “holding a grudge against God for giving him a life of vagabond,” the article mentioned quoting police officials.

Hindustan Times had published a PTI story on the incident, which mentioned that the accused had been arrested.

On Saturday morning, temple priest Ranjeet Pathak found idols of Lord Shiva, kept in the open area of the temple, were broken. By analysing the CCTV footage, police found that Mal was responsible for the incident, PTI reported.

POLICE DENIES COMMUNAL ANGLE

Speaking to The Quint’s WebQoof team, ACP Chandel said that there was no communal angle to the incident.

As per the PTI report, Mal used to work along with his father before the coronavirus lockdown was put into place. Later, his father went back to Bihar.

As per The Hindu report on the said incident, a case was registered under Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 457 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night in order to commit offence punishable with imprisonment) of the Indian Penal Code. An investigation is underway.

Evidently, an incident that took place in Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh wherein a 28-year-old allegedly threw stones at a temple was given a false communal angle.

(With inputs from SM Hoax Slayer)

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