News Tamil Nadu

Dravidian Stockists Amplify Half-Truths Peddled By One India Tamil About YouTuber In Siruvachur Temple Crowd Funding Case

November 13, 2022
The Commune

YouTuber Karthik Gopinath has approached the Madras High Court seeking direction to the Hindu Religious Charitable and Endowments department (HR&CE) to transfer ₹30.77 lakh he raised through crowdfunding to restore damaged idols at the Periyasamy Hills Temple in Siruvachur, Perambalur district.

The case was heard by Justice P.D. Audikesavalu. Advocate General R. Shunmugasundaram and Advocate V. Raghavachari appeared on behalf of the HR&CE and petitioner respectively. Petitioner Karthik Gopinath stated in his affidavit that he is a social media influencer and he learned last year that miscreants had damaged the idols of the Periyasamy Hills temple as well as a private temple in Siruvachur.

He also stated that on October 10, 2021, he posted a video on his YouTube channel about restoring the idols and raised funds through the crowdfunding platform Milaap. He posted another video on October 14 asking donors to stop sending money because the required amount was collected in three days. However, some of the donors contributed to his personal account.

Although he was prepared to transfer the entire ₹30.77 lakh, including the money collected in his personal account, for the renovation of the temple, police arrested him on May 30 after filing a criminal complaint against him based on a complaint made by the Executive Officer of Mathurakaliamman Temple in Siruvachur.

Therefore the petitioner has now moved the Madras High Court seeking direction to the HR&CE to transfer the amount collected by him for the restoration of the damaged idol.

However, the news was misreported in certain news websites like One India Tamil, which said that Karthik Gopinath has ‘accepted’ to give the money ‘defrauded in the name of the temple’.

“Fraud in the name of temple.. Has accepted to give ₹30.77 lakh! BJP supporter Karthik Gopinath petitions High Court”, read the headline of Oneindia Tamil written by one Noorul ibn Jahaber Ali, a former Sub Editor with Sun News (DMK owned channel).

Karthik Gopinath has posted a video on his YouTube channel Ilaya Bharatham in response to the misreporting. He said,”The issue has become sensationalized even inside the court. Normally, the Advocate General will not appear for a writ petition in the admission stage. However, in my case, the Advocate General appeared in the first sitting to oppose the plea.”

He further said, “RSB media like OneIndiaTamil has been spreading fake news regarding the case. In the same way that Annamalai refers to Murasoli as toilet paper, I refer to OneIndiaTamil as a toilet news website.”

He continued, “It was me who requested the court to direct the HR&CE to accept the money I collected. But OneIndiaTamil was reporting as if I agreed to transfer money because of someone’s order. I was ready to transfer the funds from day one. However, HR&CE refused to accept the money in order to keep the FIR alive.”

Many members of the ruling DMK resorted to peddling half-truths about the case.

DMK IT Wing Deputy Secretary Isai amplified the half-truths calling the YouTuber names.

“All the people hanging out with Annamalai (BJP Tamil Nadu President) turn out to be filtered fraud, scoundrel, thiefs and rapists. That too this Karthik Gopinath is a mega fraud”, the DMK IT Wing Deputy Secretary said.

Quoting the fake news spread by OneIndiaTamil, a Dravidian Stockist, SKP Karuna who is the Chairman of SKP Engineering College in Thiruvannamalai, said,” Does stealing become non-criminal if the stolen money is returned?”

Karthik Gopinath responded strongly to SKP Karuna, saying that he should speak only after learning about the case and that it was he who asked the court to order the HR&CE to take money from him because they had not been taking it for a long time in order to paint him in a bad light.

Meanwhile, other social media users began digging into SKP Karuna’s details, which revealed that the SKP College to which he is related has Telugu minority status, despite the fact that SKP Karuna stated in his bio that he has an unquenchable thirst and love for Tamil literature.

About Siruvachur Temple Case

Karthik Gopinath, a prominent Tamil YouTuber, was arrested over the issue of raising money for temples at Siruvachur in Perambalur district where idols were vandalized in the months of October and November 2021. He was charged with sections 420 and 409 of the India Penal Code.

It was reported that Karthik Gopinath had collected funds through fund-raising app Milaap to renovate the desecrated temples at Siruvachur. There has been debate over his collection of money as the HR&CE rules does not permit individuals or organizations to solicit donations for temples under HR&CE control.

Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.