Fact Check: Policewomen on duty at Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple? No, video shows Pamba Ganapathy Temple
A video claiming to show women police personnel on duty at the Ayyappa Swamy Temple of Sabarimala is going viral on social media.
By - K Sherly Sharon
Claim:The video shows policewomen stationed at the Ayyappa Swamy Temple on duty, even though the temple does not allow the entry of women.
Fact:The claim is false. The video shows policewomen on duty at the Pamba Ganapathy Temple, not the Ayyappa Swamy Temple.
Hyderabad: A video is going viral on social media with the claim that it shows policewomen officials stationed at the Ayyappa Swamy Temple in Sabarimala. Entry of girls and women of menstruating age has traditionally not allowed at the temple.
The viral video contains several clips of women in uniform stationed inside a temple as devotees clad in black traditional outfits are seen walking around. The text on the video reads, “Women shouldn’t come to the Ayyappa temple, haha. But education will take them anywhere.”
The video was shared several times on social media with the claim that the Kerala government has stationed policewomen officials in the Ayyappa Swamy temple, breaking rules.
An X user shared the video with the caption, “Kerala communist government breaking Ayyappa Temple rules to allowing young women inside temple.”
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the viral claim is false. The video shows policewomen stationed at the Pamba gateway, not inside the Ayyappa Swamy temple.
Using reverse image search of the video's keyframes, we found an image uploaded on the Wanderboat website showing two golden pillars like those in the viral video. The image was uploaded to the page named ‘Pamba Ganapathy Temple’. The image was uploaded in the reviews section by a user who identified the location as the Pamba Ganapathy temple.
We checked the images of the Pamba Ganapathy Temple uploaded by users on Google Maps. We found that the surroundings in three of the viral video clips are like the photos and videos uploaded to Google Maps. You can find the images here, here and the video here.
Comparison of the screenshots can be found below.
This indicates that the majority of the viral video clips were shot at the Pamba Ganapathy Temple.
What did the Sabarimala temple state?
Speaking to NewsMeter, the Sabarimala PRO said that there are no policewomen stationed at the Ayyappa temple.
“This video shows the Pamba temple, which is a gateway to the Ayyappa temple. This temple is 4 km from the Ayyappa temple. Women and girls are allowed to this temple all year round. However, that is not the case with the Ayyappa temple; there are no policewomen on duty at the Ayyappa temple.”
Therefore, it is clear that the viral video shows the policewomen on duty at the Pamba Ganapathy Temple, not the Ayyappa Temple. NewsMeter concludes that the viral claim is false.
