Fact Check: Ram Temple Being Built Where Babri Masjid Once Stood, Viral Claim Of Construction 3 Kms Away From Disputed Site Is Fake

New Delhi (Vishvas News). As the Ram temple in Ayodhya gets inaugurated, a picture of Google Map is being shared with the claim that the temple under construction is not being built at the place where Babri Masjid once stood. It has been claimed that the temple is being constructed three to four kilometers away from that area.

Vishvas News found this claim to be false. The place which is being described as the site of Babri Masjid in the viral Google Map screenshot is Shri Sita Ram Mandir (Birla Temple), about a kilometre away from the site of the under-construction Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

What Is Going Viral?

Social media user ‘Md Mustakim Md Mustakim’ shared the viral picture (archive link) and wrote, “Hum mandir wahi banayenge…! Maaf karna main gusse mein thoda idhar udhar nikal jata hu. Bas 3-4 kilometre. (We will build the temple there…! Sorry, I go out of my way a bit in anger. Just 3-4 kilometres.)”

Many other users have shared this picture on different social media platforms with similar claims. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut also commented on the matter and gave a statement, which was shared by many leaders (archive link) and news portals.

Investigation

Starting the investigation, we carefully examined the viral screenshot. In it, the place referred to as Babri Masjid has been labeled as “Babar Masjid”, and the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple is located at a certain distance from this point. The location identified on Google Maps with this keyword is Shri Ram Mandir (Birla Mandir).

The images of this temple visible on Google Maps correspond to those available on the government website of Ayodhya district. However, the entire area appears densely populated, contrary to news reports stating that the Ram Temple complex spans over 70 acres, and some reports even claim the area to be over 100 acres.

Our search for the under-construction Ram temple on Google Earth revealed a clear view of the construction site in an open area.

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir and Shri Ram Mandir (Birla Mandir) are geographically distant from each other and connected by the Ram Janmabhoomi Corridor. Additionally, the area described as “Babri Masjid” is densely populated with numerous visible buildings, contradicting the fact that the disputed structure was demolished in 1992.

We discovered several images in old news reports that clearly show the disputed structure in an open space.

Our investigation disproves the claim made in the viral picture regarding the construction site of the Ram temple. We reached out to Rama Sharan Awasthi, the Ayodhya editorial in-charge of Dainik Jagran, who refuted the claim, stating, “The sanctum sanctorum of the under-construction temple is below the middle dome of the three visible domes of the disputed structure.” He emphasised that the temple complex occupies the same place where the disputed structure once stood.

Regarding the mention of “Babar Masjid” on Google Map, Awasthi clarified that there is no mosque near Shri Sita Ram Mandir (Birla Mandir). The temple is situated close to the Ram Janmabhoomi corridor, with a distance of over 700 meters from the disputed structure.

The location identified as “Babar Mosque” in the viral picture does not has a mosque, but a temple and an open road, as confirmed by Google Earth.

We corroborated this information by consulting another journalist, Abhishek Upadhyay, who affirmed, “The temple is being constructed where the Babri Masjid existed.”

The user who shared the misleading picture on Facebook, claiming the temple’s construction is several kilometers away from the disputed structure, has a following of approximately a thousand people.

Conclusion: The Google Map screenshot being shared with the assertion that Ram Mandir is being built few kilometres away from the disputed site is false. The temple is indeed being constructed at the site of the disputed Babri Masjid stood.

Tags

• Ayodhya
• Ayodhya Ram Temple