A digitally edited image is shared alleging that a Hindu temple in Rajasthan, denies entry to certain sections - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 2, 2023
A social media post claiming that a Hindu temple in Rajasthan’s Sirohi denied entry of Harijans into the temple is being widely shared. The post accompanies a screenshot of a wall of a Hindu temple with a message denying entry to certain sections of people. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Screenshot of a Hindu temple displaying a cautionary message denying entry to certain sections of people, in Rajasthan’s Sirohi.
Fact: The Valmiki temple in Sirohi, Rajasthan does not practice any form of discrimination by denying entry to any group of people. When a similar claim went viral a year ago, the Sirohi police explicitly refuted the allegation and shared an image of the temple, clearly showing that there is no message denying entry.  Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
While the viral screenshot does depict a temple in Sirohi, Rajasthan, it is important to note that there is no message on the temple wall that talks about denying entry to individuals belonging to certain sections.
Through internet search, we came across a tweet from a journalist who shared the original image of the temple in question, that does not contain any message denying entry to certain sections. He further rules out the viral claim as misleading.
#Fact_Check: कई ट्विटर हैंडल सिरोही के वाल्मीकि मंदिर की एडिटेड फोटो सोशल मीडिया पर वायरल कर रहे हैं. इसे लेकर अभद्र टिप्पणी कर रहे हैं.  जबकि मंदिर में ऐसा कुछ भी नहीं लिखा है. कृपया इस तरह की भ्रामक पोस्ट कर समाज में वैमनस्यता न फैलाएं. pic.twitter.com/lCbWy4ojhZ
Further search led us to an old tweet, dated 07 March 2022, from the Sirohi police, which shared the actual image of the temple in question. This implies that the viral claim is at least a year old. Responding to similar allegations, the Sirohi police visited the temple and shared a photograph of the wall, which does not contain any message that talks about denying entry to individuals belonging to certain sections.
पुलिस द्वारा मौके पर जाकर यह फोटो लिया गया है जिसमें ऐसा कुछ लिखा हुआ नहीं दिख रहा है I pic.twitter.com/ArQzSWQlQz
Moreover, we could not find any news reports about the existence of such a practice. Thus, it is certain that the viral message is added digitally.
To sum it up, a digitally edited image is shared alleging that a Hindu temple in Rajasthan, denies entry to certain sections.