Fact Check: 5-Year-Old Incident Of Assault on Priest In Rewa Resurfaces With Misleading Communal Claim
Vishvas News investigated the claim showing a policeman beating a priest and found it to be false. There was no communal angle to the incident and the video is not recent, but dates back to 2020.
- By: Pragya Shukla
- Published: Apr 10, 2025 at 12:03 PM
- Updated: Apr 22, 2025 at 03:56 PM
New Delhi (Vishvas News): Several pictures of a policeman assaulting a man are going viral on social media, ving a communal angle to these pictures. It is being alleged that a priest was attacked by Rewa SP Abid Khan while lighting a lamp in a temple during Navratri in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. During this, Rewa SP saw the priest alone in the temple and started beating him.
Vishvas News investigated the claim and found it to be false. The incident is not recent and has no communal angle. The viral video dates back to 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown. At that time, the priest was conducting prayers in the temple along with several people, violating lockdown protocols. Inspector Rajkumar Mishra, the station in-charge at that time, arrived to disperse the people and ended up using a baton (lathicharge) on the priest. The incident sparked outrage, and disciplinary action was taken against inspector Mishra, who was later line attached.
What is going viral?
Facebook user ‘Harish Kumar Lalwani’ shared the viral pictures on April 7, 2020 with the caption, ” Today was the last day of Maa’s Navratri, I have come to light a lamp, Sir. It is Ramnavami Sir. The priest who was praying alone in a temple in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh was brutally beaten up. The vessel filled with water was kicked and thrown away and the prayer area was trampled by those wearing boots. This goon is Rewa Police’s SP Abid Khan. It is the duty of every Hindu to contribute to get this accused dismissed, make this post viral.”
Investigation
To verify the viral claim, we conducted a Google reverse image search and found a related report on the Navbharat Times website published on April 3, 2020. According to the report, “The incident took place in the Devi Mandir premises located in Dhekha of Rewa district. Where the police took brutal action against the priest for violating the lockdown rules. The then station in-charge inspector Rajkumar Mishra brutally beat the priest. Then people complained about this brutal action to the then DGP Vivek Johri.”
According to a report published on Dainik Bhaskar’s website on April 3, 2020, “After the picture of the priest being beaten up went viral, the then Chief Minister Shivraj Singh took the matter seriously and ordered action. Then Rajkumar Mishra was line- attached by the then IG Chanchal Shekhar.”
During our investigation, we found a related report on The Lallantop website, published on 3 April 2020. According to the report, “The priest was not alone in the temple. Many other people were also present with him. Pictures of other people have also been published in the report.”
According to a report published on ETV Bharat’s website on April 3, 2020, “The person who beat up the priest was Civil Lines police station in-charge Rajkumar Mishra. However, the SP of Rewa at that time was Abid Khan. He did not beat up the priest. All such claims were denied by the Rewa IG.”
We found a post related to the claim on the official X account (formerly Twitter) of Madhya Pradesh Public Relations, dated April 3, 2020. According to the information available, “IG Rewa has given information regarding the Rewa incident. The policeman seen in the photo is not Rewa Superintendent of Police Abid Khan. Action has been taken on the information of crowd gathering during the lockdown. Police station in-charge Rajkumar Mishra has been line attached for inappropriate action.”
For further clarification, we contacted Shyam Sundar, a journalist from Nayi Duniya Rewa. He confirmed that this incident took place during the COVID-19 lockdown. At that time, the person who was being misidentified as Superintendent of Police (SP) Abid Khan was the police station in-charge Rajkumar Mishra. Public gatherings, including in temples and other crowded places, were prohibited due to the risk of infection.
Finally, we scanned the account of the user who shared the viral picture with the false claim and found that the user shares posts related to a specific ideology and has over 40000 followers.
Conclusion: Vishvas News investigated the claim showing a policeman beating a priest and found it to be false. There was no communal angle to the incident and the video is not recent, but dates back to 2020.
- Claim Review : In Rewa, Muslim SP Abid Khan barged into a temple and beat up the priest.
- Claimed By : Facebook user 'Harish Kumar Lalwani'
- Fact Check : False
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