An official of Mangalore diocese has dismissed as fake some videos and images on alleged attacks on churches in the wake of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s victory in the just-concluded assembly elections in Karnataka state. One social media post claims that BJP and Sangh cadres attacked a church in Mangaluru and tried to plant BJP flags to celebrate the party’s victory. The video was posted to Twitter on May 16. However, a fact-check revealed that the video is nearly ten years old and shows the outer facade of Saint Sebastian church in Permannur, Mangaluru. 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.
As reported by mattersindia.com, Marcel Monteiro, public relations officer of the Mangalore diocese remarked that “No attacks on any church in Mangalore have taken place till Thursday (May 17) morning. The video going around on social media is very old, nearly ten years old. This is incorrect information.”
The video was taken when Hindu radicals allegedly vandalized two dozen churches and several Christian prayer halls in Udupi, Chikmagalur and Dakshina Kannada districts during August-September 2008.
Source: www.mattersindia.com
