By Kalim Ahmed

A photograph of a structure that appears to be a temple with a dome on top is viral on social media with various captions that suggest that the structure was a temple that was converted into a mosque.

BJP member Surendra Poonia shared the photo with a caption in Hindi which reads, “The architecture of the Mughals and the rest of the invaders was so unique and strange that whatever they built, they always kept a temple in its basement.” Poonia’s tweet is a reference to the conspiracy that 22 locked rooms in the basement of the Taj Mahal house Hindu idols.

(Link https://twitter.com/MajorPoonia/status/1526040729742905344?t=mdBY6n1XvqK3Zlaff1rSew&s=19)

Users SujinEswar1 and Chetankumar_111 tweeted the photo with the claim that a Hindu temple in Chittor was converted into a mosque by the Mughals.

( Link https://twitter.com/SujinEswar1/status/1523519450393169920?t=1HB54qCd1Znn3kK-THIu4w&s=19)

( Link https://twitter.com/Chetankumar_111/status/1525069666070441984?t=mJXxmjZ5nGCb6lHdxLYWmQ&s=19)

The photo of this structure was also viral on Twitter in 2020 with the same claim and was in circulation on Facebook as well.

( Link https://twitter.com/rishibagree/status/1290657073710206988?t=UVRX-cJD5FeTtnQS6n_oHA&s=19)

Fact-check
We performed a Google reverse image search on the photo and came across a forum from 2011, where one Sudipto Ray published photos of his self-driving trip from Kolkata to Rajasthan. In his posts, Sudipto shared the viral image with the caption, “An obvious temple, converted into a mosque”.

Photos preceding the viral image also suggested that this was in Chittor. Taking this as a clue, we performed a keyword search on Google and came across the same structure on Alamy. As per the description on Alamy, the structure is an old temple in the Rattan Singh Palace, Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan.

We performed a second keyword search and came across another photo showing the temple’s front part. As per the caption, this was an old Shiv temple in Chittorgarh Fort. We again performed a Google reverse image search which led to Wikipedia, according to which the name of the temple is “Shringar Chauri”.

Using Google Earth Pro, we geolocated the temple at these coordinates 24°53’33.06″N, 74°38’40.47″E. Both the front and the back of the temple are visible on street view.

Read the full story here:- https://www.altnews.in/no-this-temple-in-chittor-was-not