Fact Check: Saffron flag with Lord Hanuman’s image was hoisted underwater by a scuba diver but not Indian Navy
After the consecration ceremony, devotees flocked to offer prayers to Lord Rama in Ayodhya. Interestingly, a monkey entered the sanctum sanctorum, went near the idol, but left without creating any trouble.
Scuba diver
After the consecration ceremony, devotees flocked to offer prayers to Lord Rama in Ayodhya. Interestingly, a monkey entered the sanctum sanctorum, went near the idol, but left without creating any trouble. Amidst all the news about Ayodhya Ram Mandir, a video of a person swimming underwater and holding a saffron flag with an image of Hanuman on it, is shared on social media with the claim that the saffron flag has been hoisted underwater by the Indian Navy.
The video is shared with the caption ‘By Indian Navy.... Underwater..Jay Shree Ram..’
The claim is Misleading. The video does not show Indian navy personnel hoisting a saffron flag underwater, he is a scuba diver from Gujarat.
When we searched the keyframes extracted from the video, we found several social media handles sharing the video stating ‘A scuba driver raises a saffron flag with Lord Hanuman’s picture’.
The YouTube channel of PTI news shared the video with the caption: ‘Ram Mandir special: Scuba diver waves saffron flag under seawater ahead of Pran Pratishtha ceremony’. The video mentions the location as Dwarka, Gujarat.
The same video was also shared on their X (Twitter) handle with the caption “VIDEO | A scuba diver raises a saffron flag with Lord Hanuman's image under seawater at the Shivarajpur Beach in Gujarat.”
When searched further, we found a report by gujaratijagran.com, that Karamanbha Chamdia, a scuba diver at the famous Shivarajpur beach in Gujarat, hoisted the flag with the image of Rambhakta Hanumanji inside the sea in bitter cold.
News18 Gujarati also shared the video of the man hoisting the saffron flag underwater.
Hence, the viral video does not show Indian Navy personnel hoisting a saffron flag under water, it shows a scuba diver hoisting the flag at Dwarka beach in Gujarat. The claim is Misleading.