On social media, a video is being shared where a person can be seen breaking the balcony of a house. While sharing the video, users have claimed, “Muslim houses are being demolished because the Hindutva gang claims to find an old temple near Jama Masjid in Sambhal, India”
A user named Ashok Swain shared the video and wrote,” Muslim houses are being demolished because the Hindutva gang claims to find an old temple near Jama Masjid in Sambhal, India. These bigots everyday scream Hindu minorities are in danger and their houses and temples being destroyed in Bangladesh!”
Following the above user, we also found users who shared similar claims and matched viral videos.
Fact Check
On investigation, the claim was found to be misleading. According to a media report from Jagran and Amar Ujala, it informed that under an anti-encroachment drive conducted by the district police and administration in Sambal, the owner of a house located near the Shiv-Hanuman temple in Sambhal covered and removed a part of his house, on his own, to prevent debris from falling on the temple and nearby buildings, due to illegal construction.
The Jagran report further informed, “ the team headed towards the Agenti Tiraha. There, people had made a large number of slabs in front of their shops, due to which the road had become narrow. There was a problem of jam here all the time. The bulldozer started breaking all the slabs that were under encroachment at the Agenti Tiraha. Seeing this, other people took hammers from their shops and houses and started breaking their stairs themselves.”
Conclusion
The viral video showing a man breaking the balcony of his house has been misrepresented. Fact-check reveals that the incident occurred during an anti-encroachment drive in Sambhal. The house owner voluntarily removed part of his illegally constructed balcony to prevent debris from falling on nearby buildings, including a temple. There is no evidence of any communal or forceful demolition in the incident.
