Many users claimed on the social media that the largest church in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh was demolished by the authorities. The incident was depicted as a form of religious discrimination.
HindutvaWatch (“@HindutvaWatchIn“), a verified profile on twitter, shared their view on the incident with the caption “The largest church of Jaunpur, Jeevan Jyoti Church, was demolished by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s government. As per a report, a total of seven bulldozers had been used for the demolition of the Jeevan Jyoti Church.” The post was made on Oct 13,2023 and have received an about more than 5k views on it.
The largest church of Jaunpur, Jeevan Jyoti Church, was demolished by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s government. As per a report, a total of seven bulldozers had been used for the demolition of the Jeevan Jyoti Church.https://t.co/Gki88hDCD7
— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) October 13, 2023
Real Truth Behind the Picture : Fact-Check
The church was built on government land that had been encroached upon. Last month, when the revenue team went to measure the church, miscreants attacked them, injuring two revenue officers and two police officers.
Spreaders of false information misrepresented the incident and spread a baseless and fraudulent form of religious persecution. It has nothing to do with religious persecution.
punjabkesari.in published an article on Friday, Oct 13, 2023, where they wrote “Watch: Illegal church was razed to the ground with a bulldozer, the team that went for measurement was attacked” after sharing the video of the incident.
The bullies attacked the police and the revenue department team on September 29, when they had come to measure this land. Two accountants and numerous police officers were hurt in the attack. The government vehicle’s glass broke at the same moment. With the help of Seven bulldozers the well-known Jeevan Jyoti Christian Religious Prayer Centre, which was constructed unlawfully on public property was razed to the ground.
In fact, the village community and church are visible in the photos. And the Samadhi site’s land was occupied and developed; in order to demolish it, the revenue team and a large police contingent arrived in the village with more than six JCBs, clearing the government land of encroachment while the administration Even journalists were prohibited from entering this side due to the sealed roads leading there.
The authorities in this case have prosecuted over 35 individuals, including the priest, based on the accountant’s complaint. A case was filed, and 13 people were jailed as a result. Meanwhile, measurements taken the other day revealed that the Jeevan Jyoti Christian Religious Prayer Centre was being built on the village society’s and the mausoleum’s property. A notice to demolish the illegal construction had also been pasted by the administration.
With the assistance of seven JCBs, SDM Neha Mishra and her team began tearing down the unauthorised construction on Wednesday afternoon, October 12. Other buildings were demolished in addition to the boundary wall, excluding the hall and rooms. The demolition work went on until the wee hours of the night. In this regard, illegal construction will be demolished, according to Kerakat CO Gaurav Sharma.
He added that although action has been taken against illegal construction on government land, the administration has also deployed heavy police force in light of the events of September 29 to ensure that there is no disagreement of any kind.
D-Intent’s Fact-Checking Results:
1209
— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) October 15, 2023
ANALYSIS: Misleading
FACT: An illegal Church that was constructed on government land has been demolished by the authorities in Jaunpur, UP. Propagandists Projected as religious persecution which is false and baseless. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/q2zzP2xCIX
Intent:
Propaganda accounts spreading misinformation and making exaggerated claims are targeting the administration and basing their propaganda on religion.
Conclusion:
Claim : The authorities in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, have demolished an illegal church that was built on government land.
Fact: When the revenue team went to measure the Church last month, they were attacked by miscreants. The Church was built on encroached government land. Religion-related persecution is unrelated to this.
