A recent clash involving a Hindu outfit activist in Puttur taluka of the Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka was given a communal spin and shared with fake narratives, the police have said.
According to the police, a seemingly straightforward altercation between neighbours took a complex turn, and was given a communal spin due to conflicting narratives and social media sensationalism ahead of the Ram Temple consecration on Monday, 22 January.
Santhosh, an activist of a Hindu outfit, was allegedly attacked on 16 January by neighbours said to be associated with the Puttila Parivar — another right-wing Hindutva organisation.
He was returning from a meeting on the distribution of akshata (holy grains) in preparation for the Ram Temple consecration ceremony.
Santhosh had claimed that he was attacked over distributing akshata. However, the local police have now said the clash was over a land dispute and that it was not a religiously motivated assault.
The police revealed that both parties filed counter-complaints related to a longstanding land dispute, with no direct connection to the Ram Temple consecration ceremony or the distribution of akshata in the locality.
As the incident gained traction on social media, certain accounts and handles highlighted what turned out to be a fake narrative of this incident, only to be met with scepticism from the Dakshina Kannada Police, who dismissed that version of events as “fake news”.
Clash over land dispute
The assailant, identified as Dhananjay, and his associate Keshava attacked him for distributing akshata, alleged Santhosh at a hospital on 17 January.
“They had vehemently opposed my efforts in distributing holy grains in the locality,” he added.
However, the police dismissed the claim. They said the 16 January attack was carried out by a group associated with the Puttila Parivar over a land dispute.
This story was originally published in thesouthfirst.com. Read the full story here .