Hate Watch: Police debunk Panchjanya Editor's communally dangerous claim

panchjanya

Hitesh Shankar, the Editor of Panchjanya weekly, the Hindi mouthpiece of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), that claims to shape “national discourse since independence”, is yet to delete his tweet that had the potential to fuel communal tension in Delhi.

Sharing fake news from a locality in Delhi, Shankar claimed that a temple in Noor Nagar, which according to him is a “Muslim-majority” neighbourhood, was being “demolished” and the debris was being cleared to wipe away “evidence.” He also demanded that “those who demolished the temple will have to build the temple there!”

दिल्ली के मुस्लिम बहुल नूर नगर में एक मंदिर को ध्वस्त करने के बाद निशान तक मिटाए जा रहे हैं।
मंदिर गिराने वालों को मंदिर वहीं बनाना होगा!@AmitShah @ArvindKejriwal @AlokKumarLIVE pic.twitter.com/isQYI0iVn1
— Hitesh Shankar (@hiteshshankar) September 23, 2021

As the tweet began getting online traction, and a number of right wing handles began spreading the lie, Delhi Police swung into action and debunked the claim. RP Meena, Deputy Commissioner of Police South East Delhi, said, “Local Police visited the spot to verify the contents of the tweet. The property belongs to a member of the Hindu Community who himself was dismantling/clearing the built up area adjacent to the temple in his own property. No harm to the temple has been caused and it is intact.”

Local Police visited the spot to verify the contents of the tweet. The property belongs to a member of the Hindu Community who himself was dismantling/ clearing the built up area adjacent to the temple in his own property. No harm to the temple has been caused and it is intact. https://t.co/DyowGvgi33
— DCP South East Delhi (@DCPSEastDelhi) September 23, 2021

However the image and tweets continued to spread the lie that a temple had been destroyed. Hitesh Shankar had in his tweet tagged Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in his fake news post, and so did those who spread it further.

Muslim residents move HC to save temple

According to news reports, the truth is that a group of “Muslim residents of Jamia Nagar have moved the Delhi High Court to protect an old temple at Noor Nagar from further damage.” They moved the HC after a portion of the temple’s Dharamshala was demolished by its caretaker intending to take possession of the land. This is the portion that was being shared by Shankar and others as “being demolished” with false allegations suggesting that it was Muslims who were at fault. News 18 reported that the HC “intervened in the matter after a petition was filed last week by Jamia Nagar ward number 206 committee president Syed Faujul Azim (Arshi) on the encroachment and demolition of the only temple in the area.” Azim also alleged that “a part of Dharamshala was demolished overnight to level the ground so that the builders could erect a building and sell flats.” It was reported that the “layout plan available on the website of the department of urban development shows the temple premises marked clearly” and the petition added that “the land of Dharamshala belonged to Johri Lal, son of Makhan Lal, who built the temple in 1970.”

On Friday, September 24, the Delhi HC ordered the police to ensure that the temple in Noor Nagar is protected, and that there is “no law and order situation in the area, stated news reports. According to a report in The WIre, a Quick Response Team of policemen was formed on Sunday, September 26, and at least three policemen have been stationed outside the 50-year-old temple since the court gave the order. The temple gates have also been locked.