A video is going viral on social media platforms. In this video, a shirtless man can be seen caught along with two women in inappropriate circumstances. Users on social media are sharing this video and claiming that the man shown in the video is a Hindu priest.

Claim made through the video

Sharing this video on x, an account named Crime Reports India claimed:  “Hindu Brahmin priest caught his pants down”

The archive link can be seen here

Video shared by another user

Furthermore, we found that the video has been shared by another user named Aandh Bhakti with a similar claim.

The archive link can be seen here

Fact-Check

To verify the authenticity of the viral video, the DFRAC team converted it into some keyframes and reverse-searched it on Google

Video found on YouTube

We found a video on a Youtube channel named ‘Lokewate’ dated July 8, 2023, with the caption: What really happened to Pallegama Sumana Thero who was caught with two women?”. The video also features some keyframes from the above viral video.

What did the Media Sources say?

Following this, we found media reports from Srilanka media outlets such as Srilankan Mirror & Daily Mirror.

According to a media report published by Daily Mirror World on July 8, 2023, Eight individuals were arrested by the Nawagamuwa police today over the assault on Buddhist Monk, Pallegama Sumana Thera and two women inside a house at Bomiriya, Rassapana in Nawagamuwa.

Moreover, another media report from Srilanka Mirror, published on July 8, 2023, also reported similar facts regarding the above viral video.

Conclusion

It is clear from DFRAC’s Fact-Check that the shirtless man shown in the viral video is actually a Buddhist Monk from Sri Lanka, not a Hindu priest.

Analysis: Misleading