On July 11, two men, Phanindra Subramanyam and Vinu Kumar, founders of an internet broadband service in Bengaluru were brutally murdered in their office in Hebbal - Kempapura area by three people. The Bengaluru police have since arrested four people for the murder, including the three who stabbed the victims to death and another accused who allegedly planned the murder.
Following the incident, several fake claims started doing the rounds claiming one of the victims Phanindra Subramanyam was a Hindu seer and that the murder was communal in nature.
The false claim was shared by Mohan Gowda, Karnataka spokesperson for the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti who tweeted a photo of the victim Subramanyam dressed in a traditional attire and sporting a tattoo of Hindu deity Shiva claiming "One more Hindu Leader brutully murdered in Bengaluru. #Paneendra_subramanyam no more. Om Shanti"
This tweet was amplified by Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party member Rajeev Chandrashekhar who shared it alleging a communal angle to tweet and blaming Congress with the tweet text claiming, "This is the other defining attribute of Cong govts - a direct fallout of Cong appeasement politics - where killers n criminal/terror orgs feel encouraged in their Cong "safe havens". This is true everywhere Cong n Allies like TMC are in govt - criminals attackkng Hindus are given a free pass by Cong "leaders".
Sunil Deodhar, National Secretary of the BJP and in-charge for Andhra Pradesh also made the same fake claim
FACT CHECK
BOOM found that both the claims are false - the victim Phanindra Subramanyam was not a Hindu seer and there was no communal angle to the murder.
We first looked for news reports about the incident and found several news reports including the India Today and Hindustan Times who reported that the victims as "Phanindra Subramanyam and Vinu Kumar were the MD and the CEO of Aeronics Internet Company"
The reports also carried photos of both the victims including Subramanyam
According to news reports the Amruthahalli police first arrested three people - Shabarish alias Joker Felix, Vinay Reddy and Santhosh alias Santu.
A Deccan Herald story further cited the reason for the murder as business rivalry and said, "Arun Kumar is suspected to have hired three men, including Kannada rapper and Instagram influencer Shabarish alias 'Joker' Felix, to eliminate Phanindra Subramanyam, the managing director of rival fiber net company Aironics Media Pvt Ltd."
We then looked up Subramanyam's LinkedIn profile where he has listed his professional experience, Managing Director Aironics Media Private Limited with no mention of being a Hindu priest or a seer.We also found the same photo as in the viral tweets uploaded as part of a reel by Phanindra on his Instagram account with other visuals of the inauguration of his company Aironics Media private limited. Additionally a scan through his social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter do not show any evidence of him being a Hindu seer.
BOOM then contacted BM Laxmi Prasad, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-East) who denied any communal angle to the murder. DCP Laxmi Prasad said that "the victim was not a priest. He was also not murdered because of any such reason". He added, "All the accused and the deceased are from the same faith".
When asked about a communal angle to the murder, the police officer rubbished it and said that the investigation was on but it was possibly a business rivalry and that the accused Felix is a Hindu named Shabarish. "Felix is just a stage name by the accused"
BOOM also reached out to a friend of the victim who confirmed that the victim Phanindra Subramanyam was not a Hindu seer. "He hailed from Shivamogga district and was a very charitable person and took part in several volunteering activities. He had strong views about Hindutva and would not hesitate to voice them but he was not a Hindu seer or a priest."