Viral claim that Indian priest died proving he ‘could fly’ is baseless
Sharing a video of a man falling from a cliff, multiple news outlets recently claimed that the priest died while attempting to prove that he could fly. However, a verification by Dismislab reveals that the claim is baseless. Multiple Indian media reports state that in August 2021, the 49-year-old priest Pappayya Swamy died after falling into a deep gorge.
He was performing a special religious ritual at the peak of the Gampa Mallayya Swamy hill in the Singanamala mandal (administrative subdivision) of Anantapur district. While performing this ritual, he lost his balance and fell from the hill into a 40-foot-deep gorge.
However, none of the news reports mentioned anything about him claiming to be able to fly or dying while attempting to show that he could fly.
On June 30 this year, a video was posted from the Facebook page of the news outlet “Durbin News” with the caption, “Priest dies while trying to prove ‘I can fly’!” In the 1-minute-long video, a priest is seen advancing towards the gorge while ringing a bell in his hand, when he slips and falls down the gorge. In one part of the video, it is said, “Claiming to have supernatural powers and stating ‘I can fly’, a priest met a tragic death from the top of a hill while trying to prove such a sensational claim in front of devotees.”
Additionally, the video was also shared with the same claim from the Facebook page of the news outlet “Ei Din Ei Somoy”. The caption of this video stated, “‘I can fly’, Hindu priest loses his life while proving the claim.” The same video was also posted with the same claim from multiple personal Facebook profiles (1, 2, 3) and an Instagram account.
To verify the truth, a reverse image search using keyframes of the video brought forward a report by The Times of India published in August 2021. The headline of the report was, “Viral video: Priest falls off hillock while performing puja, dies.” The report stated, “In a shocking incident, a 49-year-old priest died after slipping into a 40-feet gorge. The victim was performing special rituals on top of the Gampa Mallayya Swamy hillock in Singanamala mandal of Anantapur district. While performing special rituals, he lost balance and slipped off the hillock into a 40-feet deep gorge. At least a 100 devotees witnessed the priest’s accidental fall.”
Another report published by The Hindu on August 21, 2021 stated, “The purohit of Gampmallayya Swamy Temple in Anandaraopeta village of Singanamala Mandal of the district, known for his daredevilry, died on Saturday morning when slipped from top of the temple.
“The temple priest Appa Pappayya, 49, climbs near-vertical rock cliff on oil-soaked edges several times every year as part of a ritual to appease Lord Gampamallayya and perform the puja in the temple on top of the hillock.” The report also mentioned that the entire incident was captured on video.
A 2021 report by the Deccan Chronicle stated, “Although devotees rushed to the spot quickly, they could not save the priest, as multiple bones in his body were broken and he suffered severe head injuries. The video of the entire incident has gone viral on social media. Recalling the past, devotees informed that the priest had been performing puja at the temple for ten long years and would climb down without any kind of help or support.”
Multiple (1, 2) Indian reports also mentioned the incident simply as the priest falling down while performing puja. None of them mentioned him trying to prove he could fly.
Incidentally, even in 2024, such baseless claims were seen circulating that the priest died while trying to prove he could fly. Reports published in various languages (1, 2, 3) were found making this claim. Recently, on June 28, the video was also posted with this claim in Turkish from an account on X.
