Old video of a fight in Kolhapur temple goes viral with false communal claims 

A video of a few persons involved in a fight is going viral on social media, with the claim that two Muslim men entered a temple premises with beef while shouting Allahu Akbar and were then caught and beaten by priests.

Let’s check the truth.

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Fact check:

We started our investigation with a reverse image search on Google, and the results led us to a news report by Times of India carrying the screenshot of the viral video. According to the report, the incident occurred at the Jyotiba Temple in Kolhapur, where two devotees were beaten by priests. No communal allegations were made. The police booked 17 priests and 17 devotees after a fight broke out on the afternoon of March 22 at the Jyotiba Temple in the Wadi Ratnagiri village in Panhala tehsil of Kolhapur.

Moving forward, we found several media reports regarding this incident sharing the same video. You can see them here and here.

Citing the FIR lodged at Kodoli police station, the report said that the fight broke out after the devotees threw a broken coconut laced with gulaal towards a priest. It first led to an altercation and then the fight.

Upon examining the FIR filed in connection with the incident, we found that it involved a clash between two priests and some devotees. There is no mention of this being a communal incident. It should be clarified that the viral video is of the Jyotiba Temple in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, not the Mahalakshmi Temple. The Mahalakshmi Temple in Kolhapur and the Jyotiba Temple are separate and independent pilgrimage sites. Both are located in the Kolhapur district, about 18 to 20 kilometres away from each other; apart from this, there is no evidence of involvement of people from the Muslim community or any communal incident in the case.

Conclusion

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the video to be Misleading. This video shows a clash between priests and devotees at the Jyotiba Temple in Kolhapur. It has no communal angle.