An Old Image Of Injured Jain Monk Going Viral As The Attack By Muslims In Karnataka.

Recently an image of an injured person went viral on social media with the claim that this Jain sage was attacked by Muslim youth in Karnataka. This message was forwarded to our 24*7 Factline number 9049053770 for a fact check. According to the message, a Jain sage was attacked by Muslims in Karnataka. Those people chanted Congress Zindabad slogans too.

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However, as we investigated, we came to know that the viral message was false. The Jain sage was not attacked by Muslims, rather he had a minor accident. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check 

We started our investigation by conducting a reverse image search of the viral image. As a result, we found the same image attached to a report published in Deccan Chronicle on 31 March 2018. The headline of the report was, “PostCard News founder Mahesh Vikram Hegde in jail for spreading fake news”.

According to the news, the person in the viral image is Jain monk Upadhyaya Mayank Sagar. The news read, “The Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths have arrested the co-founder and editor of an online right-wing leaning web portal ‘PostCard News’ Mahesh Vikram Hegde for allegedly spreading “fake” news to instigate “communal unrest” on Twitter. One of Hegde’s Twitter followers is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hegde’s arrest was made after he tweeted a photo of Jain monk Upadhyaya Mayank Sagar Ji Maharaj with a caption “Very sad news, yesterday in Karnataka Jain muni attacked by Muslim youth. No one is safe in Siddaramaiah’s Karnataka”.”

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The same report was published in The Hindu on 30 March 2018. 

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Another report from the Business Standard can be read here. 

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Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the viral claim is false. The image of the injured Jain monk (Upadhyaya Mayank Sagar) is old and being shared with false narratives. He was not attacked by Muslims, rather was injured in an accident and sustained minor injuries.