Fact-Check: Panchjanya editor Hitesh Shankar claims local temple demolished because it was in a Muslim-dominated area. Is it true?

On September 23,2021, Hitesh Shankar, the editor of the weekly magazine Panchjanya posted a series of tweets claiming that a temple in the Noor Nagar area of Delhi was demolished. He claimed that since this was a Muslim neighbourhood, they sought to demolish a temple that had existed their for the last 50 years and was frequently visited by the Hindu residents.

He also posted a letter by a resident of the area who claimed that the temple was being demolished by the previous land owner’s son. Hitesh asks whether the son is even allowed to demolish the temple  for commercial use. He also raises questions which were communal in nature.

Fact-Check

Since the tweets were going viral, Delhi police took the matter into their own hands and physically visited the area. The DCP of South East Delhi then quoted the tweet and clarified that upon local police’s visit to the area, they found that the temple itself was intact and unharmed only the area around the temple had been demolished by a member of the Hindu community.

Therefore, the claim made by Hitesh Shankar is false and misleading.