The Shri Ram Temple’s construction is almost finished. On January 22, Ramlala will take a seat in the magnificent temple for Pran Pratishtha. For this, invitation letters are being sent out. PM Modi is among the numerous well-known figures who have gotten invitation letters for this. Concurrently, Ayodhya is in the process of hiring priests to serve in the worship of Lord Ram Lala. For this reason, Mohit Pandey has been chosen to serve as the Ayodhya priest. Six months of instruction will be provided to Mohit.
Following the priest’s announcement, anti-Hindu fanatics have started a malicious propaganda to target Mohit Pandey. Hitendra Pithadiya, a Gujarati member of the Indian National Congress (INC), had initially started this disgusting propaganda (Archived link). While sharing an obscene picture of a couple, he claimed that the picture was of Mohit. He wrote, “Are they making him the priest of Ayodhya Ram temple??”
A parody account going by the name Virus Baba I.N.D.I.A Wala (Archived link) sharing the image wrote, “Are they making him the priest of Ayodhya Ram temple?? How much will BJP fall.”
क्या इसको अयोध्या राम मंदिर का पुजारी बना रहे हैं?? कितना गिरेगी भाजपा 🤦🤦🤦 pic.twitter.com/kylClGOf40
— Virus Baba I.N.D.I.A Wala (@Virus_Studioz) December 11, 2023
The malicious tweets made by Hitendra Pithadiya and Virus Baba gained huge traction on the X platform (formerly Twitter). After this, many handles started spreading this hateful propaganda against Mohit Pandey. (Archived links 1, 2, 3 and 4)
क्या इसको अयोध्या राम मंदिर का पुजारी बना रहे हैं?? pic.twitter.com/ozlyLWafVi
— Amit prajapati (@prajapati999991) December 11, 2023
क्या इसको अयोध्या राम मंदिर का पुजारी बना रहे हैं?? कितना गिरेगी भाजपा 🤦🤦🤦 pic.twitter.com/PWEN0g6SM9
— Mohammad Quraishi (@Mohamma0876598) December 11, 2023
राम राष्ट्र की संस्कृति हैं.. pic.twitter.com/dum1mmrcVP
— JAGDISH PANCHAL (@icsinsystems) December 11, 2023
Mohit pandey is here, राम मंदीर पुजारी, बाबा की जय हो | pic.twitter.com/PYGuUc4Mpu
— Akash Rao (@AkashRa07642192) December 11, 2023
Apart from X, this claim was also shared widely on Facebook. Many users propagated this claim and targeted Mohit for his Hindutva identity. All this was pointing out that the root cause of this propaganda toolkit against the newly appointed priest of Ayodhya was merely because of his association with a particular religion. (Facebook post links 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6)
Fact Check
Our fact-checking research revealed that several porn websites featured the lewd picture of a couple that is widely circulated with the fake impression that it features Mohit Pandey. According to the porn website, the video is of a Telugu priest and has nothing to do with Mohit. When compared, the video that went viral and the one that was posted on the porn website were same. The video screengrab is circulated in a manner that leads viewers to believe that the individual in the clip is Mohit Pandey. But this is not true.
Additionally, we found a report by Navbharat Times. The report revealed that Mohit is a student of Dudheshwar Ved Vidyapeeth, Ghaziabad, UP. Dudheshwar Ved Vidyapeeth is also run in the Dudheshwarnath temple complex of Ghaziabad. Only Fact, with the help of a local journalist, contacted Pintu, the media in-charge of Dudheshwarnath temple. When we asked Pintu about the viral obscene photo, he told that the person seen in the viral photo is not Mohit Pandey. Then we got Mohit’s contact information through Pintu. While talking to Only Fact, Mohit said that the viral obscene picture is not his. Sanatan, Shri Ram Mandir and Hindutva are being deliberately defamed by such acts.
Furthermore, Ayodhya Police has proactively taken cognizance of this malicious propaganda and initiated action against the handles who are knowingly propagating this fake claim.
प्रभारी निरीक्षक साइबर सेल को आवश्यक जॉच व नियमानुसार विधिक कार्यवाही हेतु निर्देशित किया गया।
— AYODHYA POLICE (@ayodhya_police) December 11, 2023
So, in conclusion, the obscene image of a couple that is going viral with the claim that it features priest Mohit Pandey is fake. After Mohit was declared the newly appointed priest of Ayodhya temple, there was an uproar on the X platform regarding his religious identity. Many malicious attempts are being made to tarnish his image and target the temple authorities.
| Claim | A lewd picture of a couple shows Mohit Pandey, the recently appointed priest of the Shri Ram Mandir |
| Claimed by | Hitendra Pithadiya, Virus Baba, several X and Facebook users |
| Fact Check | Fake |
Also Read: Decoding the FT Web 2.0: Unmasking Another Coordinated Toolkit by Left Cabal on October 12, 2023
