Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (RJP)
Mangaluru, May 17: As soon as the elections results of the Assembly elections were announced on Tuesday, May 16, a series of old and misleading videos and images involving a few churches in Mangaluru and surrounding areas were circulated in the social media with the intention of creating panic among people.
After 12 out of 13 seats in twin coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada were won by Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP), these photos and videos have been going viral. Police and church authorities have received many calls to verify the truth. Media houses too have been asked many questions.
Case no 1- Video
A video posted in Twitter by a person named Mohammed Mohsin on May 16, says that BJP and Sangh Parivar cadres attacked a church in Mangaluru and tried to plant BJP flags to celebrate the party’s victory.
A fact check reveals that the video is ten years old. The church shown in the video is Saint Sebastian church in Permannur near Ullal. A YouTube clip with TV9’s logo shows similar visuals of police rounding up people and making them sit on the ground, as seen in the tweet.
The video was taken during the time between August to September 2008 when over two dozen churches and several Christian prayer centres were attacked or vandalized in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikkamagaluru districts allegedly by Bajrang Dal activists. B S Yeddyurappa was the chief minister then.
Case no 2 - Video
Another video clip showing police storming the same St Sebastian Church has gone viral on Facebook and WhatsApp. The same sequence of events can be seen in an Al Jazeera news report from 2008 which is available in Youtube.
Case no 3 - Photo
A separate photo showing supporters of the BJP in front of St Lawrence Church Bondel were circulated on the evening of May 15. The image shows the BJP supporters in front of the church rejoicing. But the message with the photo claims that BJP workers have already started disturbing the peace in the society soon after their party emerged victorious in the elections.
The fact is, there was a reason for the BJP supporters to congregate at that place. St Lawrence Church is located near a junction connecting Kavoor, Padavinangadi and Vamanjoor, very close to counting centre. Police had blocked the road at the junction leading to the counting centre for security reasons. Hence people started gathering in front of the church.
The only communication for them to get the results was through the news display board outside the Daijiworld Corporate Office situated very opposite the church. Every moment they saw the BJP gaining upper hand in many constituencies, they were seen cheering. With the church in the background and BJP workers with flags in front it, gave a chance for some anti-social element to capture that photo and circulate it with evil motive.
Case no 4 – Photo
Original photo
Altered Photo
Another photo image claims to show that the Christian community in Karnataka has built a ‘Lingayat Church’. The photo was some ‘cut and paste ‘ work using Photoshop software. A ‘h’ is added to the ‘Lingayat’ word.
A fact finding reveals that the photo is that of Our Lady of Dolours Church in Dahanu, Maharashtra. The images of the church were posted in a blog in 2012.The board in front of church was added using Photoshop.
Police and church authorities in Mangaluru have said that no any untoward event concerning any church has taken place anywhere in the region. They have requested not to circulate such material.