The West Bengal Idol Vandalism: How Misinformation Stoked Communal Flames Online

When unfinished idols were vandalized in Santipur, West Bengal, viral posts labeled it an ‘assault on Sanatan Dharma.’ But the truth was different: a personal grudge between neighbors from the same community. Here we separate fact from fiction.

 The Vandalism of unfinished idols of Hindu gods and goddesses in Santipur, West Bengal, is currently the talk of the hour on Indian social media. Several right-wing accounts took to social media platforms, such as X and Facebook, with captions that appear to hint at an alleged communal twist to the incident. However, the incident unfolded on the night of January 5, 2026, when two local residents, brothers Ashit and Amit, vandalised idols belonging to potter Jayanta Das. According to reports from the media and law enforcement, the situation stemmed from a personal grudge, and all parties involved belong to the same community, which rules out any communal element.

How did the communal angle manifest?

On January 7,  Amit Malviya, in charge of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) National Information & Technology Dept, shared the photos linked to the incident through his official X account, marking it as “ANOTHER BRUTAL ASSAULT ON SANATAN DHARMA.” Hinting towards a possible communal aspect to the incident, the post goes on to blame the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, and the Trinamool Congress for the alleged anti-Hindu hatred in the state.

As of January 8, the post received 3,45,900 views, 4,400 likes, and 2,100 reposts.

Reacting to the post, a user remarked,”When will the liberals in our country have their eyes on the desecration of Hinduism in our own country and stop caring so much about Palestine and Rafah?” Another user tagged the West Bengal Police, calling their attention to the post, suggesting that Amit Malviya is trying to incite communal unrest and violence by his misleading posts.

On the same day, the national spokesperson of the BJP, Pradeep Bhandari, also shared the photos with a similar caption. The caption raises serious allegations against Mamata Banerjee for the alleged shielding of “dangerous fundamentalists” in West Bengal.

A user responded,”Disgusting! The names of those culprits are Amit and Asit Dey, and there should be police action against you for spreading fake news and attempting to create communal disturbance in this state.” Several users tagged the West Bengal Police, urging them to take action against these accounts for trying incite communal tension online.

Mohammed Zubair, Fact-Checker, Co-founder of  a prominent Indian non-profit fact-checking website Altnews, responded to these posts, clarifying the absence of any communal context to the incident. He also indicated that an FIR has been lodged against two accused, namely Amit Dey and Asit Dey.

What really happened?

We used keywords such as “West Bengal,” “vandalism,” “idols,” etc and performed a keyword search leading us to an ETV Bharat report dated January 8.

As per the report, the event took place in the late hours of January 5, close to Sarbanandipara Loknath Temple in Santipur, where two local individuals damaged the idols created by Jayanta Das and his son Palash Das. The police have started the investigation, and the CCTV visuals of the incident reportedly helped them to identify the culprits, Amit Dey and Asit Dey, who are now absconding.

The news organization Dainik Bhasker also covered the event on =January 8.

The analysis of the viral social media posts clarifies that the incident that occurred in Santipur, West Bengal, is a result of personal grudges between individuals belonging to the same religious community.