Did Christians conduct a prayer in a Warangal Temple?
M Nageswara Rao, a retired IPS officer and many others share this false claim.
Claim
Religious Extremism: Christian prayers conducted inside ancient Ramalayam constructed by Kakatiyas on Fort (Khilla) at Gundu Cheruvu Warangal, Telangana. Temple is under the controll of Archeological Department and being administered by the Telangana Endowments Department.
Rating
Explanation
A video is being shared in social media by many right-wingers including a twitter handle “Legal Rights Protection Forum” which has over 27 thousand followers, with claims that a Christian prayer was conducted by a group of people in the famous Thousand Pillars Temple of Warangal. It was also by a retired IPS officer M Nageswara Rao who claimed in his post “Christians performing prayers/mass reportedly in Thousand Pillars Temple, Hanumakonda/Warangal” which was viewed by 87 thousand views. Similar posts can be seen here, here and here.
Dear @TelanganaDGP,
A video👇of Christians performing prayers/mass reportedly in Thousand Pillars Temple, Hanumakonda/Warangal (or it could some other Temple as is evident from the video) has been in circulation in Twitter & WhatsApp.
These are serious offences under sections… pic.twitter.com/fkfuWMrcin
— M. Nageswara Rao IPS (Retired) (@MNageswarRaoIPS) April 11, 2023
What’s the truth?
The claimed incident did not take place in the Warangal’s Thousand Pillars Temple. The Commissioner of Police, Warangal had confirmed that the incident took place in the Warangal Fort.
The above incident took place at Fort Warangal &NOT at Thousand Pillars temple. A Criminal case was registered vide https://t.co/Cr1JzJnw02.246/2023 at MillsColony PS.
The culprits are being arrested & Stringent action would be taken against those disturbing the Communal Harmony.— CP WARANGAL (@cpwarangal) April 11, 2023
A tweet was made by the Warangal’s Commissioner which stated that an FIR has been filed regarding the incident and the culprits were arrested, along with a warning that states that strict action would be taken against those who disrupt the communal harmony.
Telangana had responded to Ex-IPS Nageswara Rao’s tweet asking to verify the authenticity of the video before forwarding while calling his post fake.
Verify video authenticity before forwarding. Telangana ensures secularism, Thousand Pillar Temple video fake. Police registered case, helpline for cybercrime is 1930.
— Telangana State Police (@TelanganaCOPs) April 11, 2023
Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) too issued a clarification regarding the incident which can be seen below.
The Telangana state remains committed to protecting the secular ethos as envisaged in the Constitution. @cpwrl has confirmed that nothing like this has happened at the Thousand Pillar Temple. A criminal case has been registered in this regard,
(2/3)— DGP TELANGANA POLICE (@TelanganaDGP) April 11, 2023
Earlier, a temple in Tamil Nadu was falsely claimed that it was converted into a mosque.
Read More: Ancient Mosque in Ramanathapuram falsely claimed as converted Hindu temple
Conclusion
The claims that a Christian prayer was offered by a group of Christians in the Thousand Pillars temple in Warangal is false. The incident took place in the Warangal Fort and the Telangana State Police Department confirmed that an FIR has been filed regarding the case and necessary action is being taken.
