Priest assaulted for molesting a minor? Here are the facts

This video is from Jaipur and shows neighbours attacking a priest over loud devotional music.

A video of a priest being assaulted inside a temple is going viral on social media. Allegedly, it shows a father assaulting a priest for molesting his minor daughter.

India Today Fact Check found that the video is from Jaipur and shows people attacking a priest over loud devotional music being played during a religious programme.OUR PROBE

Reverse-searching frames from the video led us to a report by The Times of India published on September 28. It featured a screenshot from the video. According to it, a few people complained to priest Pandit Ramkrishna about loud devotional music being played during a religious programme at a temple in Ganesh Nagar Main, Niwaru Road, Jaipur. The argument turned violent, with allegedly one man attacking the priest.

A Dainik Bhaskar report said the priest filed a complaint on September 26. The accused, Harish Chaturvedi, Devansh, and Ritu, were from a neighbouring family. They assaulted Ramkrishna in the presence of other devotees on September 25. The police arrested Harish and Devansh on charges of disturbing the peace. The report added that the accused family also filed an FIR.

Neither news outlet reported that a father assaulted the priest for molesting his daughter. India Today Fact Check reached out to Jaipur’s Kardhani Police Station for more information. SHO Sawai Singh confirmed that there was no allegation of molestation and that the neighbours attacked the priest over loud devotional music.

Thus, we concluded that the viral claim is false.- Ends

Md Mahfooz Alam is a correspondent with India Today Fact Check. His work focuses on investigative journalism. He has a keen interest in politics and history and stays engaged with current events. Before his current role, he worked as a Fact-Checker at NewsMeter.