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Collage of images falsely circulated as idols found in Sambhal mosque

A collage of four images are falsely being circulated online claiming to be that of idols found during the survey of Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, it is found after fact check analysis

Saturday December 14, 2024 10:08 PM, Fact Check by Logically Facts

A collage of four images are falsely being circulated online claiming to be that of idols found during the survey of Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, it is found after fact check analysis.

What is the claim?

A collage of four images has been shared online, claiming that 1,500-year-old idols were discovered during the survey of the Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh.

The collage shows Shivling (a cylindrical idol representing the Hindu god Shiva), two idols of the Hindu god Vishnu, and another item resembling the Sudarshan Chakra (a discus wielded by Vishnu).

A Facebook user shared the collage with the caption in Telugu, which translates to:

“1500-year-old Vishnu statue, Sudarshana Chakra, and Hindu symbols discovered during the survey of Sambhal Mosque. Every Hindu should share and save Hinduism.”

The images were circulated after a court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal. The local court ordered the controversial survey after hearing a petition claiming that a Hindu temple once existed on the land where the mosque was built.

The survey however ended in violence after UP Police resorted to lathi charge during the second survey of the historic mosque on November 24, 2024.

In the ensuing clashes, police resorted to firing killing five Muslims, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav said in Lok Sabha while detailing what happened in Sambhal from November 19 when the court ordered the survey and November 24, 2024.

Fact Check Analysis

However, the claim that the idols were recovered during the survey of Sambhal mosque in Uttar Pradesh is false.

The analysis of the viral images by Logically Facts revealed that three idols in the image were found in the southern Indian state of Karnataka in February 2024.

A reverse image search on the images in the viral collage led to an X post by NDTV on February 7, 2024 with a caption:

“Centuries-Old Vishnu Idol, Shivling Found In Karnataka Riverbed.”

Three of the images seen here match those shared in the now-viral claim falsely linking them to Sambhal mosque.

These images were also published in reports by The Times of India and local news channel TV9 Kannada in February 2024, corroborating the details above.

Logically Facts spoke to the person in charge of the Karnataka Archaeology Department in Raichur, who also confirmed that the Vishnu idol and the Shivling were found in Raichur.

The analysis of the fourth image in the collage, showing the circular wheel believed to be the Sudharshan Chakra, revealed it to be taken from an online shopping website called Indiamart. The caption under the image reads:

“Material: Brass Sudarshanachakra Kalasham, Temple.”

According to the website, the material is manufactured and sold by Kolcharam Art Creations in Hyderabad, the capital of the southern Indian state of Telangana.

The verdict

Three images of idols recovered in Karnataka and an image from a shopping website have been shared with the false claim that the idols were found during a survey of the mosque in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh.

[This story was originally published by LogicallyFacts, and republished by ummid.com as part of the Shakti Collective.]

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