Video of gold seized in robbery case falsely viral as IT raid in residence of Tirupati priest
A video that resembles a press briefing by the police has been shared on social media. The video shows gold jewellery laid out on a table. It has been claimed that an income tax raid was conducted at the residence of a priest working at the Tirupati Balaji Temple and 128 kg gold, Rs 150 crore cash and Rs 77 crore worth of jewels were recovered.
तिरुपति मन्दिर के 16 पुजारियों में से एक पुजारी के घर इनकम टैक्स की रेड से 128 किलो सोना 150 करोड़ रुपये नगद 77 करोड़ रुपये के हीरे मिले..
ये हैं #उच्च वर्ण के लक्षण जो मन्दिर के #अंदर तक ही सफाई करता है, निम्न वर्ण तो मंदिर के बाहर ही झाड़ू लगाता है।
— A Ahmed (@_AAhmed004) January 1, 2022
The video is widespread on Twitter and Facebook with the accompanying claim.
Photos from the alleged raid are also being circulated on WhatsApp. Alt News received a few requests to verify the video on our WhatsApp helpline number (+9176000 11160).
An article by Dainik Savera Times was shared on Zee5 website where the same images were used to support the claim.
Fact-check
An Alt News reader sent the viral claim on our WhatsApp helpline and informed us that the pictures depict a robbery incident from Vellore, Tamil Nadu.
A relevant keyword search based on the reader’s alert took us to media reports from last year. On December 21, 2021, The Hindu reported that a man was arrested after the police seized 16 kg of jewellery from a graveyard. Unidentified miscreants used a drill to make a hole in the wall of a jewellery shop. The police identified K. Raman, 23, a resident of Kuchipalayam village near Pallikonda, from the shop’s CCTV footage.
“The suspect wore a dark face mask and meticulously sprayed paint to all 12 CCTV cameras placed inside the shop. The employees found out about the theft when they opened the showroom in the morning and informed the police,” the report added.
Several other media outlets also gave coverage to the incident. (The Times of India, India Today)
News18 Tamil Nadu journalist Mahalingam Ponnusamy tweeted the same video while reporting on the robbery.
@VellorePolice has arrested a burglar, who drill hole into Vellore #Josalukkas jewellery store wall, decamp with 15kg gold and diamond jewels ???????? pic.twitter.com/yzfZSvp6bY
— மகாலிங்கம் பொன்னுசாமி / Mahalingam Ponnusamy (@mahajournalist) December 20, 2021
It is noteworthy that Alt News could not find any reports corroborating the claim that an income tax raid was conducted at the residence of Tirupati Balaji Temple priest.
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