TDP Social Media Groups Peddle Fake Story About Damage To Saraswati Idol

A conspiracy to create communal discord by peddling fake stories was unravelled in Narasaraopet of Guntur district. Several TDP-backed social media groups have peddled a story claiming that a Saraswati idol was desecrated by miscreants near Sankara Matham in Narasaraopet.  The story claimed that the liquor was poured on the idol and that is was defaced. It also claimed that the idol was set afire.

The post was first uploaded in a Whatsapp Group by one Challa Madhusudhana Rao. This message later found its way into AP Media, a telegram group with 68000 members. Soon, TDP political wing, CBN Army Guntur district, Jai Telugu Desam, TDP official, CBN Soldiers, Saho Chandrababu and several other pro-TDP accounts reshared it. Within hours, the post went viral. Soon, the Yellow media picked this up.

Later, it turned out that the idol was in a damaged condition for the last two years. The owner of the land Kapilavai Vijaykumar told media that the idol was damaged when the earlier college management left the venue.  With the misinformation falling flat, the perpetrators beat a hasty retreat. The police have since arrested Murali and Mahesh Reddy, who were involved in making the story go viral. Search is on for main accused Challa Madhusudhan Rao, who first uploaded the story.