Overview
- A short video that circulated in early July shows a man lighting a cigarette from a sacred deepam placed before a Shivling at the Ranamandala Hill Shiva temple, prompting public outrage and complaints.
- Adoni One Town Police registered a case for allegedly hurting religious sentiments and identified the accused as Vadde Eranna, who has been taken into custody for questioning.
- Eranna told investigators the footage was recorded in 2022 during a Class 10 supplementary exam visit and Andhra Pradesh fact‑checkers have also dated the clip to 2022.
- Senior police and state officials are probing who re‑circulated the older video and whether that circulation was deliberate to disturb communal harmony and public order.
- Local Hindu organisations have demanded immediate punishment and the incident has drawn formal attention from the Andhra Pradesh government, which could influence further legal and social media actions.