Viral posts claim police filed an FIR over the words ‘Operation Sindoor’ on a Pookkalam in Kollam.
A social media post claiming that the words Operation Sindoor were written on a flower carpet in Kollam and later removed by police has gone viral. The controversy centres on the floral arrangement created in front of the Parthasarathy temple in Muthupilakkadu for Onam celebrations.
Several people, including BJP IT cell head and national executive member Amit Malviya, shared the claim online. But a Mathrubhumi Fact Check investigation found the campaign to be misleading.
Amit Malviya’s X post
Investigation
Along with X, investigators found that a viral video was being circulated on Facebook and YouTube. BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar also shared a post on X in a way that appeared to endorse the allegations.
The accompanying message claimed that an FIR had been filed for writing Operation Sindoor in the Athapookkalam. To verify, Mathrubhumi Fact Check Desk reviewed the Kerala Police’s online citizen service portal, 'Thuna' (which provides access to complaint registrations and FIR copies without visiting the police station). No mention of Operation Sindoor was found in the FIR registered on September 5.
The FIR stated that a case had been registered against two RSS supporters and activists, along with about 25 others identified by sight, for creating a Pookkalam and a floral flag resembling the RSS flag without the permission of the temple committee. This was in violation of a High Court order prohibiting flagpoles and flex boards on temple premises.
A screenshot of the FIR is attached
https://thuna.keralapolice.gov.in/citizen-fir-download
To confirm details, Mathrubhumi contacted Muthupilakkadu Parthasarathy temple committee secretary Ashokan.
“The claim that the police registered a case because Operation Sindoor was written on the Pookkalam is not true,” he said. “In previous years, RSS supporters had prepared Pookkalam here. But in view of the court order banning saffron flags and decorations in temple premises, they were warned not to politicise the Pookkalam this year. After the police left the temple grounds that day, however, they installed a Shivaji board and created a floral flag resembling the RSS flag. Even after temple officials objected, they refused to remove it. It was in this context that the police were informed and not because Operation Sindoor was written on the flower carpet.”, he clarified to Mathrubhumi.
A further review showed that the Kerala Police issued a statement on its official Facebook page on September 6, titled “Strict action will be taken against those spreading fake news.”
In 2023, the Kerala High Court issued an order prohibiting political symbols and flags within 100 metres of the temple.
Verdict
The campaign is misleading. Police did not register a case for creating a Pookkalam in front of the Parthasarathy temple in Muthupilakkadu, Kollam, or for writing Operation Sindoor. The case was filed for depicting the RSS flag on temple premises in violation of a court order and for installing a flex board near the temple.
Published: 11 Sept 2025, 08:25 am IST
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