Claim
An image of a Nandi idol found during construction of a wall in Tamil Nadu’s Sellandiamman Temple has resurfaced on social media with a false claim. The image has been shared on Facebook with a caption in Hindi, “Wherever you dig, you will find evidence of Sanatan Dharma only, every religious place of peace ambassadors has been built by demolishing Hindu temples” (Original text in Hindi: “ चाहे जहां खुदाई करो, सनातन धर्म के ही सबूत मिलेंगे,, शांतिदूतों का हर धर्म स्थल हिंदू मंदिरों को तोड़कर ही बनाया गया है”)
Fact
The same image was earlier viral in September, 2021, with a similar claim. BOOM found that the photo is from Sellandiamman Temple, where the idol was found during an excavation exercise in Ariyu village, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu. According to a report by Puthiyathalaimurai, during reconstruction of the temple, the Nandi idol was discovered when authorities dug a trench in front of the temple to build a perimeter wall. The same viral photo is there in the report and a video report by Puthiyathalaimurai TV dated September 5, 2021.