BANGKOK, Thailand (7 September 2024) – For twenty long years, friends, relatives, colleagues, and supporters of Indonesian human rights activist Munir Said Thalib have all been seeking justice. In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Munir’s murder, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and its Indonesian member organizations demand full accountability from the masterminds behind his murder. Munir’s murder should be designated as a grave human rights violation.
In a world where injustice is often met with silence, those who dare speak out inspire hope and courage. Munir’s bravery shone in his fearless criticism of tyranny and steadfast dedication to the protection of human rights.
Munir’s legacy continues to inspire our ongoing search for truth, justice, and accountability for all victims of human rights violations.
Justice for Munir
Munir was known for handling enforced disappearance cases during Suharto’s authoritarian regime in 1998.
Munir played a crucial role in uncovering the involvement of security forces in human rights violations in Aceh, Papua, and Timor-Leste. He was also the founder of the Indonesian human rights organization KontraS, a FORUM-ASIA member. At the time of his assassination, Munir was the Chairperson of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances.
On 7 September 2004, Munir was poisoned with arsenic while on a flight of state-owned Garuda Indonesia Airlines from Jakarta to Amsterdam to pursue a master’s degree in international humanitarian law at Utrecht University.
Over the years, investigations into Munir’s murder have stalled. In 2004, a fact-finding team on Munir’s murder was formed. In 2005, the fact-finding report was completed; however, the report was never publicly released.
As a result of fact-finding team’s work, prosecutors charged Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, an off-duty pilot of Garuda Indonesia Airlines who allegedly offered exchange of his business seat to Munir; Indra Setiawan and Rohainil Aini, the former president and vice-president of Garuda Indonesia Airlines; and Muchdi Purwopranjono, then deputy head of the State Intelligence Agency. In 2008, Priyanto was convicted of Munir’s murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. In 2014, Priyanto was released. In 2007, Setiawan and Aini were each sentenced to 1-year imprisonment for issuing an unauthorized letter for Priyanto. Meanwhile, Purwopranjono was acquitted despite evidence linking him to the murder.
In 2016, the Central Public Information Commission ordered the government to disclose the fact-finding report, but the government claimed no knowledge of it. Aside from Priyanto, no other persons believed to be mentioned in the fact-finding report were ever prosecuted. Activists believe that Munir’s case was a systematic crime involving state actors such as the State Intelligence Agency and Garuda Indonesia Airlines. It is suspected that the true masterminds behind Munir’s murder remain free up to this day.
In response to civil society pressure, the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) established an ad hoc team to investigate Munir’s case, which was then declared to be a serious human rights violation in 2022. However, progress has since stalled. Since the ad hoc was formed, Komnas HAM has only examined three witnesses, though it is expected to review 50 witnesses. Munir’s case reached its statute of limitations in 2022, which means that the case is no longer eligible for investigation or prosecution.
To work around this limitation, Munir’s case must be declared as a “grave” human rights violation under Article 46 of the 2000 Law on Human Rights Tribunals. Doing so would allow the investigation to continue without any time limitations and the responsibility for investigation will be handed over to the National Human Rights Commission and the Attorney General’s Office of Indonesia.
The date of Munir’s murder, 9 December, has been officially recognized as Human Rights Defenders Protection Day. However, two decades after his murder, justice remains elusive. Despite the conviction of several individuals, the masterminds behind his murder are yet to be held accountable.
Call to action
“The authorities’ lack of meaningful action to thoroughly investigate Munir’s murder obstructs the pursuit of truth, justice, and legal certainty. It sets the stage for future violations against human rights defenders,” said Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA.
Munir’s case is emblematic of the broader environment of impunity in Indonesia.
“FORUM-ASIA urges the Government of Indonesia to order Komnas HAM to declare Munir’s murder as a grave human rights violation, which would then remove the statute of limitations and allow for continued investigation and legal action against those responsible,” Bacalso added.
To address Munir’s case, we call on the Indonesian Government to immediately establish a Human Rights Court. In addition, the government should provide full support to the investigation, ensuring transparency, impartiality, and accountability. This includes reopening the investigation, with a focus on prosecuting the masterminds behind the crime, regularly updating the public on the case’s progress, and preventing further delays in justice.
FORUM-ASIA urges the Government of Indonesia to comply with the recommendation made by the Human Rights Committee during the country’s second review of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: ensure access to public information regarding such cases, including the full reports of the Team for the Non-Judicial Resolution of Past Serious Human Rights Violations and the investigation findings of Komnas HAM and of the independent fact-finding team set up in 2005.
“As a United Nations Human Rights Council member in 2024, Indonesia must strengthen its commitment to protect human rights defenders by enacting and enforcing comprehensive legislation that includes their official recognition and protection. The government must create a safe and enabling environment for human rights work, offer legal protection, and ensure effective remedies for all victims of human rights abuses,” Bacalso explained
Lastly, we call on the international community to pay close attention to the cases of Munir and all other human rights defenders whose invaluable work contributes to strengthening Indonesia’s democracy and civic space.
Signatories:
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
The Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI)
Indonesia Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI)
The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS)
Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM)
A video has gone viral on social media showing a man wearing a skull cap giving ration to a child who is standing in knee-deep water, and cutting a cord around the child’s neck. The Bangla text on the video claims, “Child gets freedom from Shirk during the distribution of relief material in Noakhali.” The video is being shared with the allegation that Islamists in Bangladesh cut off the sacred thread or a ‘Tulsi Mala’ of a Hindu child in exchange for relief supplies.
Jitendra Pratap Singh, a user frequently found sharing misinformation, tweeted the video, claiming, “Look at how the new government of Bangladesh is wiping out Hindus. A Hindu child, stranded and hungry for days in the floods in Noakhali, was forced by a Maulvi from Jamaat-e-Islami to recite the Kalima before receiving help. The Maulvi then forcibly removed the child’s Tulsi mala, which is a Hindu symbol, and told the child that he was no longer a Hindu. When the child asked for the garland back, he was told that he wouldn’t receive any more relief supplies.” (Archived link)
यह देखिए किस तरह से बांग्लादेश की नई सरकार बांग्लादेश में हिंदुओं को खत्म कर रही है
बांग्लादेश के नोआखाली में एक हिंदू बच्चा बाढ़ में फंसा है और कई दिनों से भूखा है
जमाते इस्लामी का एक मौलवी उस हिन्दू बच्चे को सहायता देने से पहले पहले उसके कान में कलमा पढ़ता है उसके बाद उसके… pic.twitter.com/eucAWonSuE
Tulsi Rosary is generally worn by Hindus of the Vaishnav sect.
Right-wing propaganda website OpIndia also reported on the video, describing the child as Hindu and alleging that the Maulvi removed the Tulsi mala. Although the article was later updated to clarify that the child’s religion could not be definitively confirmed, the URL of the article still labelled the child as Hindu. (Archived link)
BJP supporter Raushan Sinha shared the video, pushing the narrative that religious threads were being removed from Hindu children’s necks in exchange for relief in Bangladesh. (Archived link)
Another handle, Frontal Force, too, amplified the claim. (Archived link)
Fact Check
Alt News traced a tweet by Bangladesh-based fact-checker Sohanur Rahman, who clarified that the child in the video was not a Hindu, and what was removed from his neck was a talisman, not a Tulsi mala.
Rahman also identified the location as Noakhali, where the Salafi Islamic school, Tauheed Academy and Islamic Center in Chandpur, was distributing relief. The Salafi or Ahle Hadith sect opposes wearing tabeez (amulets/talismans), and several videos of Salafi followers cutting talismans are available online. This specific video was uploaded on Facebook by a user named Russell Khan.
The boy is not Hindu, and it was not a Tulsi mala; rather it was a Taweez.
There is Bangla text on the video that reads: “With the relief distribution, this boy was made ‘Shirik-free.’”
Rahman spoke with Abdul Malek Miyaji, assistant principal of Jamia Darut Tauheed, which is operated by Tauheed Academy and Islamic Center. Miyaji confirmed that he was the person cutting the talisman in the video. He explained that the video was filmed while he was distributing relief supplies in Noakhali. The child in question is a Muslim boy named Sohail, who is in the third grade at a local madrasa. His father’s name is Abdul Haq, and his mother is Razia Khatun, both from Char Alagi village in Noakhali.
Further confirmation came from Mohammad Yusuf, a representative of Char Alagi village. Yusuf shared another video of the child, in which the boy clearly states that his name is Sohail, his father’s name is Abdul Haq, and that he is a Muslim. This video was recorded after the false claims about the boy being Hindu had gone viral in India.
What is Shirk?
In Islam, “Shirk” refers to the sin of associating anyone or anything with Allah in terms of divine power. It is considered one of the gravest sins in Islam as it contradicts the core belief in monotheism, known as Tawheed. While many Muslims wear talismans or visit shrines, certain Islamic groups, like Salafis, strictly oppose such practices. Wearing a talisman or seeking blessings from a shrine is seen by some as conflicting with the fundamental tenet that only Allah has the power to grant protection or favour.
To sum it up, several Right-wing propaganda sites and social media users falsely claimed that the video showed a Muslim cutting a Hindu child’s tabeez (Tulsi rosary) in exchange for relief supplies. In reality, the video depicts the removal of a talisman from the neck of a Muslim child by a Salafi group during relief distribution in Bangladesh.
A video recorded by a drone is circulating on social media purportedly depicting a protest demanding justice for the August 9 rape and murder at Kolkata’s R G Kar Hospital. In the video, the patriotic Bengali song “Dhana Dhanyo Pushpe Bhora,” written by Dwijendralal Roy, plays in the background. It is being claimed that a large candle-light march was carried out in Kolkata, with people coming out en masse for justice in the case. Debajit Sarkar, affiliated with the ABVP, shared the video with a similar claim.
History has been created!
The people of entire Kolkata took to the streets today. It is impossible to stop this movement until Tilottama gets justice#RGKarProtestpic.twitter.com/BEYdRUnWiV
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya also shared the video, making a similar claim, though he later deleted his tweet. However, an archived version can still be viewed here. (Archived link)
BJP spokesperson Pratyush Kanth also shared this video. (Archived link)
Several Facebook users echoed the same claim while sharing the video, reinforcing the narrative that it was part of the protest in Kolkata.
Fact Check
We saw that several social media users had commented saying that the video was from Bangladesh. Keeping this in mind, we performed keyword searches. We found the same video posted by a Bangladeshi user on YouTube on August 11, 2024. According to its caption, a candle-light demonstration was held at Uttara to pay tribute to the martyrs. Uttara is a neighbourhood adjacent to Dhaka.
Further searches revealed the same video posted on Facebook on August 9, where it was also described as a tribute to martyrs at a congregation at Uttara. This timeline is important. The R G Kar incident occurred on August 9, meaning the video could not be connected to a protest in Kolkata. The footage has been online since the same day the Kolkata incident occurred, suggesting there is no link between the two.
On August 9, another video of a candle march was also posted on X along with this video. A Bangladeshi user shared this and wrote, “Candlelight vigil and national anthem ceremony today at Uttara Friend’s Club as the whole community came together to remember the martyrs.”
candlelight vigil and national anthem ceremony today at uttara friend’s club as the whole community came together to remember the martyrs pic.twitter.com/RkkXGb5sMj
The tribute event was also covered by Bangladeshi news channels on August 9. Through additional keyword searches, Alt News found a Facebook post dated August 8, announcing the candlelight vigil that would take place on August 9 at Uttara Friends Club. The location and details matched the viral video, confirming its origin.
To sum up, a viral video showing scenes from a candlelight vigil in Bangladesh was falsely circulated as a protest against the RG Kar incident in Kolkata.
A video clip of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is viral on social media. In the clip, Akhilesh is seen scaling what appears to be a boundary wall or a gate, while several TV cameras and journalists capture the act. It is claimed that Akhilesh Yadav fled to avoid questions from journalists.
X (formerly Twitter) user Sadhvi Prachi (@Sadhvi_prachi), a leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, shared an 18-second clip with the caption claiming Yadav fled as the journalists asked him questions.
The video was later deleted but not before it reached a large number of viewers. The tweet amassed over 2.3 Lakh views and close to 2,000 reshares.
Sunanda Roy (@SaffronSunanda), who amplifies communal disinformation and propaganda on a regular basis, made a similar claim while sharing the video.
This user, too, deleted the post, but after it had reached more than 21,000 viewers.
The same claim has been shared and re-shared by several Right-wing X users. Among them are BhikuMhatre (@MumbaichaDon), Megh Updates ( @MeghUpdates ), Sardar Lucky Singh (@luckyschawla), Amitabh Chaudhary(@MithilaWaala), Baba Banaras (@RealBababanaras). Almost all of them deleted their tweets later. Readers can see screenshots of those tweets below:
After breaking down the video into multiple key frames, we ran reverse image searches, which led us to a tweet by the official handle of the Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) on October 17, 2023. This tweet has an image of Akhilesh Yadav scaling the white boundary wall or the gate as seen in the viral video.
The tweet says that on October 11, 2023, a program was organised to garland the statue of Jai Prakash Narayan located at the Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Lucknow to celebrate his birth anniversary. However, the administration locked the gate of JPNIC. Refusing to give in to the blockade, Akhilesh Yadav scaled the gate, entered the campus and garlanded the statue of JP.
अखिलेश यादव लोकनायक के रास्ते पर
-राजेन्द्र चौधरी
लोकनायक जयप्रकाश नारायण जी की जयंती पर जेपीएनआईसी की वर्तमान सरकार द्वारा की जा रही दुर्दशा से समाजवादी पार्टी के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष एवं पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री… pic.twitter.com/3AWQyBBzKB
A relevant keyword search led us to a news report by The Indian Express published on October 11, 2023, and a video of the incident on YouTube shared by The Hindustan Times.
The Express article stated, “Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav scaled the wall of Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in the heart of Lucknow on Wednesday after he was denied permission to enter the premises to offer floral tribute to freedom fighter and anti-Emergency campaigner Jayaprakash Narayan on his birth anniversary.” (sic)
The ET video-report is titled, “Akhilesh Yadav jumps JPNIC boundary wall to pay tribute to Jayaprakash Narayan”. It was uploaded on October 11, 2023.
We also geo-located the place. The white gate that Akhilesh is seen scaling in the viral clip can be seen in the photo of the JPNIC found on Google maps street view (See comparison below). The JPINIC was inaugurated by Akhilesh in 2016 when he was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. It houses a museum, a convention centre sporting facilities and also a helipad.
From the above findings, it is clear that the video clip is not a recent one, rather it dates back to October 2023. Akhilesh Yadav is seen in the clip scaling the wall of the JPNIC in Lucknow on the birth anniversary of JP to pay a floral tribute, as the gate was locked. The claims that Akhilesh Yadav fled due to the questions of the journalists are baseless and false.
The alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee at Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College and Hospital sparked several unverified theories on social media about various aspects of the crime. Soon after the discovery of the body on August 9, the names of two junior doctors — Arshean Alam and Golam Azam — started doing the rounds as the ‘real culprits’. Some claimed they had fled the country after committing the crime.
Alt News presented their side of the story. In our investigation, we found that none of them were at the hospital’s emergency building when the crime was committed. Arshean was at his home; Golam was in his hostel. And none of them is absconding.
Lately, some more names have been circulated on social media platforms and WhatsApp messages as the actual perpetrators of the crime. Ome of them is Tania Yasmin/ Tania Yasmin Khatoon. Some X (formerly Twitter) users have also shared her supposed pictures while claiming that she was directly involved in the alleged rape and murder.
A user named @rajasolanki71070 tweeted a picture of a woman in green scrubs and a mask alongside the image of the victim and claimed that the woman was the victim’s friend Tania Yasmin who had pinned down the victim while she was being tortured. She then urged ‘Hindu sisters’ not to befriend ‘such girls’.
Some other X users shared two photos together. In these tweets, a man in pink shirt has been identified as Dr Shahbaz Khan, one of the six ‘Senior doctors’ involved in the crime. Below are a few screenshots:
A combination of reverse image searches and keyword searches revealed the source of the above photos. Both the images were procured from the LinkedIn profiles of individuals with the names Shahbaz Khan and Tania Yasmin. According to the LinkedIn profile, Shahbaz is a college student in Kolkata. Tania is an operation-theatre technician working with a private hospital in Kolkata. We are withholding further details about them to protect their identity.
It appears that someone performed a google search with these names and lifted the photos from the LinkedIn pages that appeared in the search results.
Alt News Spoke to Tania Yasmin
We met Tania Yasmin who hails from the Hooghly district and is now based in Kolkata. She is not a doctor. She works as an OT technician at a private hospital. Tania pursued a paramedical diploma course (OT technician) from R G Kar Medical College and Hospital from February 2021 to May 2023. “The last time I have been to R G Kar was in December 2023. I had gone there to collect my certificate,” she told us.
“I was at work on August 9 and at my PG accommodation in the night. I got to know about the crime on the next day from the news. There is no question of me knowing the victim,” she further said.
“A few days later, I found that my name and the Facebook profile link had been shared by some users who wrote that I had been a friend of the victim and that I had left the country. Then I started receiving messages on Facebook with filthy abuses and threats. I then lodged a complaint with the cyber cell of Kolkata Police,” she added.
Tania also shared screenshots of the Facebook messages with Alt News. We have also seen a copy of the complaint lodged with Kolkata police’s cyber crime cell at Patuli police station. The users named in the complaint are Sudipta Kar and Aishwariya Sarkar.
Alt News Spoke to Police, R G Kar Doctors
We asked three of our sources at R G Kar (two interns and a postgraduate trainee) about Tania Yasmin. All of them said they did not know anyone by that name.
A source in Kolkata police confirmed to us that no one by the name Tania Yasmin had come under the purview of the R G Kar rape and murder investigation. “Tania Yasmin Khatoon was never investigated by us. And as per our investigation she was not among those who had dinner with victim,” the source told Alt News.
Alt News is also in the know of the names of four other junior doctors who were interrogated by the CBI in connection with the case. No one named Tania Yasmin or Tania Yasmin Khatoon is among them.
To sum up, there is no evidence to back the claim that someone named Tania Yasmin was involved in the alleged rape and murder of a junior doctor at Kolkata’s R G Kar hospital. A photo of an OT technician named Tania Yasmin is falsely viral in this context.
(With inputs from Shinjinee Majumder and Oishani Bhattacharya)
BANGKOK, Thailand (4 September 2024) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) condemns the Myanmar military junta’s plan to expand the age limit of its forced conscription policy.
We are calling on the international community to express solidarity with the people of Myanmar.
The junta’s plan to extend the age limit of forced conscription represents its desperate attempt to tighten its grip on power amid its losing streak against the growing pro-democracy resistance movement.
On 25 August 2024, junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing announced plans to introduce a new “security system with public participation,” which required men aged 35 to 60 to serve as guards, with the possibility of being sent to the frontlines of fighting forces.
On 16 August 2024, the junta established the Central Supervisory Committee for People’s Security and Anti-Terrorism to organise a military training. The committee is also tasked to form branch offices at regional, district, and township levels to oversee “people’s security and anti-terrorism” groups.
The junta’s plan follows its forced conscription policy implemented on 10 February 2024. The policy activates the 2010 People’s Military Service Law, mandating men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 to serve two years in the military, with professionals such as doctors and engineers potentially serving up to five years. Those evading service or assisting others to do so face up to five years in prison. The junta planned to conscript 5,000 individuals monthly starting in April 2024.
Civilians used for forced labor and human shields
FORUM-ASIA has condemned the junta’s forced conscription policy. The military has a documented history of using civilians as human shields as well as forcing them into hard labor.
Since the attempted coup in 2021, the military junta continues to impose forced labor and recruitment amidst armed conflict, the International Labour Organization’s Commission of Inquiry found in October 2023.
Rather than be forced to fight for a war they did not choose, the forced conscription has pushed Myanmar’s youth to flee their homes to join the resistance movement..
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concern over the reported forced detention and recruitment of Myanmar youth. UN Special Rapporteur on the situation in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, also noted how the junta has been intensifying its assault on civilians–utilizing powerful weapons–following its troop losses and recruitment challenges.
Call to action
FORUM-ASIA calls on the Myanmar military junta to immediately halt its forced conscription policy, abductions, forced labor, and use of civilians as human shields.
“FORUM-ASIA urges the international community, including the UN and ASEAN to thoroughly investigate the Myanmar military junta’s long list of human rights violations. The junta should be held accountable for all its crimes through sanctions and other punitive measures,” said Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA.
“The international community must urgently isolate the junta and support the people of Myanmar in their struggle for justice and freedom,” Bacalso added.
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About FORUM-ASIA:
The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is a network of 85 member organisations across 23 countries, mainly in Asia. Founded in 1991, FORUM-ASIA works to strengthen movements for human rights and sustainable development through research, advocacy, capacity development and solidarity actions in Asia and beyond. It has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and consultative relationship with the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. The FORUM-ASIA Secretariat is based in Bangkok, with offices in Jakarta, Geneva and Kathmandu. www.forum-asia.org
For media inquiries, please contact:
Communication and Media Programme, FORUM-ASIA, communication@forum-asia.org
In 2023, FORUM-ASIA faced a year marked by significant challenges and upheavals across Asia. The region experienced a surge in authoritarianism, with governments increasingly deploying repressive laws to stifle dissent and undermine democratic processes. From violent crackdowns on peaceful protests to the suppression of media freedom and targeting of human rights defenders, the landscape for civil society and human rights advocacy became increasingly perilous.
Amid these struggles, however, 2023 also witnessed a remarkable convergence of activism across diverse communities. From labour rights to gender equality, and environmental justice to pro-democracy movements, changemakers united in their resilience and collaboration, demonstrating the power of collective action.
FORUM-ASIA is proud to present its 2023 Annual Report, titled “Stronger Together: The Coming Together of Changemakers in Asia”This report highlights the collaborative efforts of human rights defenders, grassroots and international movements, and civil society organisations throughout the year. It reflects a milestone in FORUM-ASIA’s journey, showcasing both challenges faced and solidarity that emerged in response. Featuring also in-depth profiles of human rights defenders (HRDs) told through art, stories from our dedicated staff at the Secretariat, and an overview of our financial status, the report captures the essence of our collective efforts and achievements. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our members, partners, donors, and stakeholders for their unwavering support, which has been instrumental in driving forward our missions.
A clip from The Lallantop’s Neta Nagri program is currently viral on social media. In this clip, journalists Rajdeep Sardesai, Saurabh Dwivedi, and Rahul Srivastava are seen on stage.
During the discussion, Rajdeep Sardesai states, “Be it in Mumbai in 92-93 or Muzaffarnagar in 2012, whenever there are riots, we always receive stories of rapes and gang rapes.” At this point, journalist Rahul Srivastava interrupts, questioning why Sardesai specifically mentioned Uttar Pradesh and not West Bengal, where a similar incident had recently occurred. Sardesai responds by clarifying that his mention of Uttar Pradesh was in the context of women’s participation. He further adds, “By the way, West Bengal is the only state in the country with a woman Chief Minister at the moment.”
The video clip has been widely shared, with several social media users slamming Sardesai. Kanchan Gupta, senior advisor of the ministry of information and broadcasting, shared the clip, claiming that Rajdeep Sardesai had dismissed the recent rape and murder of a doctor at a government hospital in Kolkata. (Archived link)
Here is @sardesairajdeep of @IndiaToday refusing to acknowledge horrific rape and murder of a young doctor in a Kolkata Govt hospital.
Political patronage can silence voices, compromise journalists and bury what Rajdeep once called ‘Moral Compass’ in a dung heap of immorality. pic.twitter.com/6eu5FGO52B
Right-wing influencer Vineet Nayak, who uses the username ‘Bhiku Mhatre’ on X, shared the clip as well, labelling Sardesai as shameless and implying that the gravity of the crime of rape changed depending on who the chief minister of that state was. (Archived link).
Another Right-wing influencer, Ankur Singh, shared the clip, accusing Sardesai of defending the Trinamool Congress by emphasizing that West Bengal had a woman chief minister, instead of acknowledging recent incidents of violence and rape in the state (Archived link).
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya also shared the clip in February 2024, targeting Sardesai. (Archived link)
Fact Check
Noticing that the viral clip features the title of ‘The Lallantop’ show ‘Neta Nagri,’ we conducted a keyword search on YouTube using the names of the three journalists featured in the video. This search led us to a longer version of the program, which was uploaded on The Lallantop’s YouTube channel. The viral clip can be found at the 2:36:37 mark of the video which was uploaded on August 5, 2023.
So, it is clear that the video is over a year old and hence the claims that Sardesai refused to acknowledge the August 9 R G Kar rape and murder in Kolkata are false.
When examining the broader context of the viral video, two key points emerged
1. The video has been edited and Sardesai’s remarks are being shared out of context
A few seconds after the viral part of the video, Rajdeep Sardesai elaborates that during political or mass violence, women often become soft targets as a demonstration of power by male-dominated systems. Sardesai further mentions that even in Bengal, where the chief minister is a woman, local control is still largely held by men, illustrating that gender dynamics are entrenched regardless of leadership.
2. Journalist Rahul Shrivastava misinterpreted what Rajdeep Sardesai said
Upon reviewing the earlier part of the clip, it becomes clear that Rahul Srivastava misinterpreted Rajdeep Sardesai’s comments. Sardesai’s earlier remarks did not specifically target Uttar Pradesh but rather referred to North India as a whole, which includes multiple states. His discussion was centred around the broader issue of women becoming soft targets in violent incidents, particularly in North India, due to the unequal representation of women in public spaces. However, this context was not fully addressed by Srivastava’s question, leading to a misunderstanding that was further amplified by the edited viral clip.
In summary, an old and incomplete video has been circulated out of context with the false claim that Rajdeep Sardesai recently dismissed the rape and murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata’s R G Kar Hospital.
With assembly elections soon to be held in Haryana, political leaders from various parties have hit the campaign trail. In this context, Congress MP Kumari Selja appeared as a guest for an interview with journalist Ajit Anjum on YouTube.
During the conversation, while speaking about the inauguration and foundation stone laying of projects, she criticised the BJP’s promises. Selja remarked, “You should also look at those inaugurations to see how much has actually been completed. They don’t even spare the Ram temple; they inaugurate half of it, and Ram keeps dripping from it during the monsoon… Forget about these things, all their claims have proven to be false.” This specific part of the interview, especially her use of the phrase ‘Ram tapakna’ (dripping) has been widely shared, with claims that the Congress leader insulted the Hindu god Lord Ram using offensive language.
The video was shared by the official Haryana BJP X handle, which described Selja’s remarks as a reflection of Congress’s hatred towards the Hindu deity Ram. The post stated, “Congress has always insulted Lord Shri Ram Ji. Such language towards Shri Ram Ji is not only an insult to the Hindu faith but also an insult to all Shri Ram devotees.” (Archived link)
कांग्रेस ने हमेशा प्रभु श्रीराम जी का अपमान किया है, श्रीराम जी के प्रति ऐसी भाषा न सिर्फ सनातन धर्म का अपमान है बल्कि सभी श्रीराम भक्तों का अपमान है।#सनातन_विरोधी_कांग्रेसpic.twitter.com/lKl3AetiyY
BJP spokesperson Anuja Kapoor also objected to the phrase ‘Ram tapakta rehta hai’ and criticised the language used by Kumari Selja, accusing the Congress party of insulting Lord Ram.
Similarly, BJP supporter Amit Kumar Sindhi shared the video and referred to it the “cheap language”.
Other BJP-affiliated accounts, such as Political Kida, Jitendra Pratap Singh, and Ocean Jainalso shared the clip, questioning Selja’s language and calling it an indecent comment about the Hindu deity.
In colloquial Haryanvi, ‘Ram tapakna’ refers to the dripping of raindrops. Kumari Selja’s comment in the video aligns with this context, as there were reports a few days after the Ram temple’s inauguration that water was dripping from the temple roof following heavy showers. Many users have also pointed out in the comments of the viral tweets that in Haryanvi, ‘Ram tapakna’ simply means raindrops.
We also found a video statement by Deepender Singh Hooda, a Congress MP from Haryana, published by ANI on January 15, 2024. In this video, recorded during his visit to the Ram temple in Ayodhya for Makar Sankranti, Hooda explains, “In the area where I come from, people start their day by saying Ram-Ram. In that area, when it rains, they say ‘Ram baras gaya’.” This statement clarifies that ‘Ram barasna’ means rain and is not offensive or vulgar language, but rather a common regional expression.
#WATCH | Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh: On his visit to Ayodhya, Congress MP Deepender Hooda says, “Lord Ram belongs to everyone. This is not my first visit to Ayodhya. Today we have come here to seek the blessings of Lord Ram on the occasion of Makar Sankranti…” pic.twitter.com/AopHAmdp2c
A keyword search led us to a Facebook post from 2023, which further explains that in Haryana, the word ‘Ram’ is used in various ways, including to refer to rain. The post mentions that when it rains in Haryana, people say, “Ram aaya hai,” or “Bahut Ram barsa bhai.”
The readers should note that Kumari Selja was born and brought up in Haryana and for the most part of her political career, she has worked in that state.
To sum it up, many BJP leaders and supporters misrepresented the colloquialism used by Kumari Selja, incorrectly portraying it as an insult to Hindu deity Ram. In fact, in the Haryanvi dialect, ‘Ram tapakna’ (dripping) simply refers to raindrops falling, and is not a derogatory comment.
Anubhav Sinha, one of the creators of the web series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ has come under severe criticism from the Right Wing on social media for using ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’ as code names for two of the hijackers shown in the series.
Indian Airlines flight IC 814 from Kathmandu to Delhi with 176 passengers on board was hijacked by five Pakistani men on December 24, 1999, and was flown to multiple locations before landing in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The siege ended seven days later when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government partially conceded the demands of the hijackers and released three jailed terrorists — Maulana Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar – in exchange for the passengers. The Netflix series is based on these events.
Right-wing influencer Rishi Bagree claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that naming hijackers Bhola and Shankar in Anubhav Sinha’s web series amounted to cinematic ‘whitewashing’. At the time of this report being written, Bagree’s tweet has been viewed over 16 Lakh times and reshared over 16,000 times.
Kandahar flight hijackers’ original names:
* Ibrahim Athar
* Shahid Akhtar
* Sunny Ahmed
* Zahoor Mistry
* Shakir
Anubhav Sinha hijacker web series IC 814 depicted as:
* Bhola
* Shankar
Supreme Court lawyer Shahshank Sekhar Jha shared a poster of the web series on X and wrote: How to whitewash Islamist terrorism?! Hijackers of IC 814: Ibrahim Akhtar Shahid Akhtar Sayeed Sunny Ahmed Qazi Zahoor Mistry Shakir Hijackers of I C 814 as per @anubhavsinha: Bhola Shankar Burger Doctor.
How to whitewash Islamist terrorism?!
Hijackers of IC 814:
Ibrahim Akhtar
Shahid Akhtar Sayeed
Sunny Ahmed Qazi
Zahoor Mistry
Shakir
Hijackers of I C 814 as per @anubhavsinha:
Bhola
Shankar
Burger
Doctor
Over 7,000 X users retweeted Jha’s tweet, including Jha himself.
Right-wing infuencer Raushan Sinha, who runs the X handle @MrSinha_, wrote in a tweet, “… Commie clown @anubhavsinha made a movie based on it & named the terrorists as Bhola & Shankar. Both after Lord Mahadev, purposely to defame Hinduism.”
Kandhar Plane Hijack was done by IsIamic terrorist org Al-Qaeda.
Commie clown @anubhavsinha made a movie based on it & named the terrorists as Bhola & Shankar. Both after Lord Mahadev, purposely to defame Hinduism.
The same claim — that the makers of the web series and Anubhav Sinha in particular had named the hijackers Bhola and Shankar — were made by several other users on X. Some of the users took sarcastic digs at the Sinha. Among them are Arun Pudur (@arunpudur), Kedar (@shintre_kedar), Kashmiri Hindu (@BattaKashmiri), The Jaipur Dialogues (@JaipurDialogues), Sameer (@BesuraTaansane), kaushik (@imkhimansh23), Rashmi Samant (@RashmiDVS), Aarohi Tripathi (@aarohi_vns), Rohith (@_rohithverse) and others.
Some media outlets, too, reported that the makers of the web series were being slammed for ‘naming’ hijackers ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’. Among them are Free press Journal, Mid-day and The Times of India. Republic claimed in an article that the identity of the terrorists had been changed and swapped in the web series. (Archive)
Fact Check
We checked news reports on Google about the IC 814 hijack and found several articles that mentioned that two of the hijackers had used the code named Bhola and Shankar. A TOI report about a couple from Bhopal who were on the ill-fated flight (21 yrs on, Kandahar hijack still haunts Bhopal couple, published on December 24, 2020) starts, “Burger, Doctor, Chief, Bhola and Shankar… The names still bring nightmares to Durgesh and Renu Goel.”
The report further states, “Narrating the horror, Goel said, “Bhola and Burger used to hit passengers, while Doctor and Chief used to to talk with the authorities.”
Another report in the Nepal Times (Remembering IC814, published on December 31, 2019) quotes one of the passengers, Sanjay Dhital, as stating, “The five hijackers all had code names: Manager, Shankar, Bhola, Burger and Doctor.”
We found a report in the Financial Express (IC 814 hijack: How Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar’s brother planned Indian Airlines hijack in 1999, published on March 6, 2019) which specifically mentioned that each of the hijackers used a code name during the operation. According to the report, the names and code names of four of the hijackers were as follows:
The fifth hijacker was Ibrahim Athar.
The use of code names has been corroborated by flight engineer Anil K Jaggia of IC 814, who in 2021 co-authored a book recounting his experience during the entire episode: IC 814 Hijacked: The Inside Story. See excerpt below:
A keyword search also revealed a statement released by the Union home minister a week after the siege ended. It states that interrogation of four arrested Harkat-ul-Ansar operatives revealed the names of the hijackers. It then adds,
“The hijackers named by these operatives are:
Ibrahim Athar, Bahawalpur
Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Gulshan Iqbal, Karachi
Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Defence Area, Karachi
Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, Akhtar Colony, Karachi
Shakir, Sukkur city
To the passengers of the hijacked place these hijackers came to be known respectively as (1) Chief, (2) Doctor, (3) Burger, (4) Bhola and (5) Shankar, the names by which the hijackers invariably addressed one another.
Sunny Ahmed Qazi
Shakir a.k.a Rajesh Gopal Verma
Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim
Shahid Akhtar Sayed
Ibrahim Athar”
When was the Real Identity of the Hijackers Officially Revealed?
On January 6, 2020. That is the day when the Union home ministry issued the above statement. It starts, “The security forces pursuing the trail of Pakistan’s Operation Hijack have made a significant breakthrough. Working in tandem with central intelligence agencies, the Mumbai Police has nabbed four ISI operatives based in Mumbai, who comprised the support cell for the five hijackers of the Indian Airlines Plane.
The Four HuA operatives arrested are: Mohammed Rehan, Mohammed Iqbal, Yasuf Nepali, Abdul Latif…. Interrogation of these four operatives has confirmed that the IAC Hijack was an ISI operation executed with the assistance of Harkat-ul-Ansar and further that all the five hijackers are Pakistanis.”
The Tribune reported on the same day (January 6), “The Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, said today that the identity of the five hijackers, including the brother of freed militant Maulana Masood Azhar, had been established…”
It further stated, “In his first press conference after the hijack crisis, Mr Advani said the five hijackers were identified as Ibrahim Akhtar, alias Athar from Bahawalpur, Shahid Akhtar Sayeed, a resident of Gulshan Iqbal, Karachi, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, a resident of Defence Area, Karachi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, Akhtar Colony, Karachi and Shaqir from Sukkur city. Ibrahim, identified as brother of Maulana Azhar, was known as “Chief”, Sayeed as “Doctor”, Qazi as “Burger”, Ibrahim as “Bhola” and Shaqir as “Shanker”, the names the hijackers used to addres each other on the aircraft.”
Brigadier Sameer Bhattacharya’s 2014 book Nothing But! corroborates this. See excerpt below:
The readers should note the web series covers developments only till the release of the hostages on December 31.
To sum up, the code names ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’ were indeed used by the IC 814 hijackers and these were not invented by the creators of the web series. The claim by the Right Wing that the Hindu names were used by the makers to whitewash the crime, therefore, does not stand.
Consequently, the news headlines which state the makers of the web series named the hijackers ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’ are misleading. And the Republic article, which goes one step further to state that the hijackers’ identities were swapped in the series is entirely false.
A 40-second video is viral across social media platforms with the claim that it shows Muslim children purposefully sabotaging train tracks in a bid to cause railway accidents in India. Some users on X have tagged this as an instance of ‘Rail Jihad.’ In the video, three children, dressed in kurtas, appear to be tampering with the railway tracks. One of them can be seen loosening the bolts of a fish plate with a large spanner, while another child can be seen collecting the bolts in a sack.
@SureshChavhanke, the editor-in-chief of propaganda outlet Sudarshan News, tweeted the video and urged the Railway Minister to give orders to RPF to shoot people indulging in such acts. (Archive)
इस उम्र में ये रेल की पटरियां उखाड़ रहे हैं। सोचिए, अगले 50 वर्षों में ये क्या करेंगे?
डॉ. बाबासाहेब अंबेडकर जी ने इनके बारे में क्या कहा था, उसे सत्ता को पढ़ना और समझना चाहिए। केवल उनके नाम जाप से कुछ नहीं होगा। @AshwiniVaishnaw जी, ऐसी हरकतें दिखते ही गोली मारने का आदेश… pic.twitter.com/Y2UXzkYBBI
— Dr. Suresh Chavhanke “Sudarshan News” (@SureshChavhanke) August 30, 2024
X-verified user @XSecular_ posted the video, using expletives to refer to Muslim children, and urging the railway minister to take action against Muslim slum dwellers near railway tracks. At the time of this article being written, the post has managed to accumulate more than 6 Lakh views and has been re-shared more than 9,500 times. (Archive)
वीडियो पता नही कहा की है पर आप कपड़ो से पहचान सकते हो सूर के पिल्लों को @RailMinIndia@AshwiniVaishnaw
महोदय जितने भी रेलवे पटरी के आस पास मुस्लिम झुग्गी झोपड़ी में पड़े है उन्हें हटाओ नही तो किसी दिन ये जिहादी बहुत बड़ा कांड कर देंगे pic.twitter.com/nvoZGrf0UP
X-verified user @TheSquind, with its long history of peddling disinformation and Islamophobic content on social media, tweeted the video, alluding to the Muslim children as being instrumental in railway accidents. (Archive)
We ran a reverse image search on one of the key frames from the viral video, and came across a Facebook video uploaded by a profile named ‘Pakistani Trains‘ on December 5, 2023. Therefore, it is evident that the Facebook video is at least eight-month old. Further, the caption of the video, when translated from Urdu to English, reads: “Near Sartaj Khan Phatak, Boat Basin Chowki, the valuable goods of railway line are being stolen a lot. P.S. Boat Basin is requested to take this action.” Further, the bio of the profile attributes its administration to a certain Fahad Asif, whose YouTube channel is also linked in the page. On examining the channel, we found several videos on Pakistani railways.
سر تاج خان پہاٹک بوٹ بیسن چوکی کی پاس ریلوے لائن کا قیمتی سامان کافی دینو سے چوری ہورہا ہے پی ایس بوٹ بیسن سے درخواست ہے کہ اس ایکشن لیا جائے
Taking a cue from the translated caption of the video linked above, we ran another relevant keyword search on Facebook, and came across this Facebook post by the Media Cell – DIG South Zone, from December 5, 2023. The caption, which is in Urdu, reports on a case of theft of track nut bolts from the Sartaj Khan Phatak railway line, near Boat Basin Chowki. In the latter part of the video, starting from the 29-second mark, three children are interrogated as to their participation in the theft. On account of all three of them being juveniles, one of the children’s father also appears in the video and takes accountability of the theft in which his son had participated. They can be seen admitting that they had stolen bolts and screws from between train tracks from a location they disclose as ‘Shireen Jinnah’.
بوٹ بیسن چوکی کے قریب سرتاج خان پھاٹک ریلوے لائن سے پٹری کے نٹ بولٹ چوری کی ویڈیو کا معاملہ۔
ڈی آئی جی ساؤتھ کی ہدایت پر ایس ایچ او بوٹ بیسن نے کاروائی کرتے ہوۓ ریلوے پھاٹک سے سامان چوری کرنے والے نو عمر بچوں کو تھانے لایا گیا۔
بچے چونکہ چھوٹے ہیں اس بنا پر بچوں کے والدین کو تھانے بلایا گیا۔
جنہیں بچوں کی چوری سے متعلق آگاہ کرتے ہوۓ تنبیہ کی گئی کے اپنے بچوں کا دھیان رکھیں اور انکی روز مرہ کی غیر معمولی سرگرمیوں پر کڑی نظر رکھیں۔
والدین کی طرف سے یقین دھانی کرائے جانے پر بچوں کو والدین کے حوالے کردیا گیا ۔
Further, we came across another YouTube video which presents a concise report on the theft. The voice-over narration adds that the three children had been taken into police custody by the Boat Basin police, where they were questioned by the officer in-charge, named in the video as ‘Shahzad’.
To sum up, the video which is viral with the claim that Muslim children are purposefully sabotaging railway tracks in order to cause accidents in India is actually a clip from December 2023. On investigating, Alt News found that this video is from Karachi, Pakistan, and depicts three children stealing nuts and bolts from railway tracks.
A photo is viral on social media where a person is seen cutting a cake, standing next to Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College and Hospital. Users claim he is Sanjay Roy, the prime accused in the August 9 rape and murder.
Sandip Ghosh has been in the news since the discovery of the horrific crime at the state-run hospital in Kolkata. Serious questions have been raised about his conduct following the discovery of the postgraduate trainee’s body on August 9 — Ghosh did not even file an FIR in the matter. After he resigned on August 12, he was reinstated by the Bengal government as principal of another state-run medical college within hours. The decision was reversed following a huge backlash and only after the Calcutta high court sent him on compulsory leave. The CBI has questioned him for over 130 hours and 13 consecutive days in the rape and murder case. The central agency has also filed an FIR against him over alleged financial irregularities at R G Kar during his tenure. The Enforcement Directorate, too, has launched a probe into this matter.
The photo, where he is apparently seen with the prime accused, is being shared as ‘proof’ of Ghosh’s complicity in the alleged crime.
X user Jitendra Prasad Singh, who shares misinformation on a regular basis, shared the photo and claimed that it showed Roy celebrating his birthday “with RG Kar Medical College Principal Sandip Ghosh in his cabin…” (Archive)
कोलकाता का दरिंदा संजय राय किसी भी पद पर नहीं था
वह तृणमूल कांग्रेस का कार्यकर्ता था
और तृणमूल कांग्रेस के सिंडिकेट ने उसे मेडिकल कॉलेज में कैंटीन चलाने का और मरीजों को एडमिट करने पर कमीशन का परमिशन दिया था
Republic (Archived version) and Times Now Bengali (Archived version) published reports on the viral photo identifying the man standing as Sanjay Roy. While Republic called it an ‘unconfirmed photo’ and said the man “appears to be Sanjoy Roy”, Times Now wrote in the headline (originally in Bengali), “R G Kar Incident Viral Picture: Smiling Sanjay cutting cake standing next to Sandip, huge row over viral photo.”
Zee News also telecast the image in a bulletin on the Kolkata incident and identified the man in question as accused Sanjay Roy. A similar story was also put out by an outlet named Calcutta Television Network (Archive).
On Facebook, the photo was shared by Kolkata-based filmmakers Pratim D Gupta and Srijit Mukherjee. Gupta said in a suggestive caption, “Friends with benefits!”. Mukherjee shared Gupta’s post.
Others who shared the same photo on Facebook identifying the man on the right as Sanjay Roy include a user named Krishnendu Mukherjee and a page named The Ultimate Trolls.
Fact Check
A reverse image search on the viral photo took us to an Instagram post which contained the same photograph. Shared on August 28 (a day before the photo went viral) by a handle named CNMCRDA (which stands for Calcutta National Medical College Resident Doctors’ Association), the post identifies the man as Prasun Chatterjee, a data entry operator at the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital (CNMC&H).
The Instagram post contains eight slides; the viral photo is the last slide. The first slide has another photo of Prasun Chatterjee (below, left). And the same photo has been used by Chatterjee as his Facebook profile picture.
We could not access the Facebook profile of Prasun Chatterjee since it is locked.
However, a keyword search on Facebook took us to a post by a user named Prosenjit Dey from January 3, 2020. The post contains several photos showing Prasun Chatterjee celebrating his birthday at the office of Sandip Ghosh, who was then the medical super cum vice principal (MSVP) of CNMC&H.
The Facebook post describes the photos as “Birthday celebration , of Prasun Chatterjee at MSVP office,CNMCH”.
Birthday celebration , of Prasun Chatterjee at MSVP office,CNMCH
As readers can see, both Chatterjee and Ghosh are wearing the same clothes in these photographs and the viral image, which makes it evident that these photos are taken on the same day. All of them are clicked in the same room as well.
This confirms that the man in the viral photo cutting a cake next to Sandip Ghosh is not the accused in Kolkata’s R G Kar rape and murder, but an indiviual named Prasun Chatterjee. The photo is from January 2020.
Alt News has reliably learnt from its sources in Kolkata’s medical fraternity that Chatterjee, who is officially a data entry operator at CNMC&H, has also functioned for a long time as a close aide to former R G Kar principal Sandip Ghosh. This has been reported by the Bengali media as well. Chatterjee’s Facebook bio says both: “Works at R G Kar Medical College” and “Works at Calcutta National Medical College”.
Chatterjee’s involvement in the events following the discovery of the junior doctor’s body at R G Kar on August 9 has come under the scanner. A viral video showing a crowd inside the seminar room on August 9 after the discovery of the body, which has raised a lot of questions about the sanctity of the crime scene, shows Chatterjee present there along with others.
Right-wing propaganda outlet OpIndia recently published a report titled “Rahul Gandhi Extends Greetings on Janmashtami Without Lord Krishna’s Image: Why Has He Been Avoiding Using Pictures of Hindu Gods?” In the article, they questioned the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, for not including images of Hindu deities in his greetings. According to their speculation, Gandhi’s decision to omit these images was an attempt to “create a neutral or impartial image that respects all religions equitably.”
The author of the OpIndia article criticised this, calling it “an outright secularization of Hinduism.” They argued that “religion is the one aspect that is not and should not be secular; however, the prince of the grand old party is secularizing Hindu festivals solely to strengthen his secular credentials.” Here is an archive of one of the initial versions of the article.
The same story was also published by OpIndia Hindi, featuring a cover image with two photos of Rahul Gandhi wearing a skullcap. (Archive)
राहुल गाँधी अक्सर जब हिंदू त्योहारों पर पोस्ट करते हैं तो उनके पोस्टों में हिंदू देवी-देवताओं की तस्वीरें पूरी तरह गायब रहती हैं। ऐसे में सवाल तो उठता है कि भगवान के साकार रूप से समस्या क्या है?https://t.co/u6Zm9nq9UU
The claim was amplified by Right-wing influencer @MrSinha_, who uses his social media handles to share communal propaganda regularly. (Archive)
Rahul Gandhi never uses Hindu gods/goddess picture while wishing on our festivals..
It seems he also follows the “Idol worshipping is haram” philosophy… pic.twitter.com/6DJXAvrVhn
We looked up some of the tweets by Gandhi in the past and found that the claim made by OpIndia and the Right Wing was false. More specifically, Gandhi has used pictures of Hindu deities several times in his social media posts.
He tweeted a picture of Sri Krishna in 2019 while wishing his followers on Janmashtami.
Some other instances where Gandhi used pictures of gods and goddesses include the occasion of Vishu in 2021, Buddha Purnima in 2020, Basava Jayanti in 2023, Ganesh Chaturthi in 2015, 2022 and 2023 and Mahavir Jayanti in 2020.
Hence, the claim made by Right-wing users and OpIndia that Gandhi does not share pictures of Hindu deities is false. The entire article published by the propaganda outlet is baseless. Rahul Gandhi has shared many images of Hindu deities in the past.
BANGKOK, Thailand (28 August 2024) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is deeply concerned over the grave human rights violations faced by Adivasi communities– the indigenous peoples of India–in Bastar, in the state of Chhattisgarh.
Adivasi communities are subjected to ongoing land grabbing, illegal land appropriation, widespread displacement, harassment, and environmental degradation.
“FORUM-ASIA calls on the Government of India to respect the rights of indigenous peoples as enshrined in its Constitution. There is an urgent need to end the militarisation and illegal appropriation of Adivasi lands in Bastar. The government must immediately cease the criminalisation, intimidation, and harassment of communities and human rights defenders,” said Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA.
Marginalisation of Adivasi Communities
Located in Central India, Chhattisgarh is a resource-rich region holding 68 per cent of the country’s iron ore along with other mineral deposits. Nearly one-third of its population are indigenous peoples.
Adivasi communities living in this region are marginalised, marked by increased securitisation and harmful and economic-driven development and extractive projects, according to a recent fact-finding report published in August, 2024.
Their rights are systematically violated by state, security forces, and corporate actors.
Violation of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The government has been involved in setting up security camps on indigenous lands, engaging in large-scale deforestation, and seizing and destroying land to facilitate mining operations. These are done even without obtaining free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) or conducting meaningful consultations with the affected Adivasi communities.
The fact-finding report highlights the proliferation of paramilitary camps on the lands of Adivasi communities. Large tracts of Adivasi land are also being forcibly grabbed for mining operations, without consent, consultation, and due process.
The government justifies the security camps under the pretext of infrastructure development and fighting Maoist insurgents. However, the fact-finding report and local Adivasi communities argued that the camps are primarily intended to facilitate mining operations.
Recent mining leases in Bastar–with only 14 out of 51 under public sector control– further highlight the encroachment of corporate interests. This poses grave risks on the lives and livelihoods of the communities as mining sites take over forest lands and produce.
Along with massive deforestation, the lack of proper environmental safeguards has led to severe pollution, the destruction of water sources, and damage to road stretches near mining sites.
These grave human rights and environmental rights violations have sparked yearlong peaceful protests in the region, with Adivasi communities and human rights defenders (HRDs) demanding their collective and individual rights to be consulted over their very own land, forest, water, and all other matters impacting their lives.
Authorities have responded to these peaceful protests with violence. The police reportedly fired at protest sites and used excessive force against protestors, including women and indigenous HRDs.
Such violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights are not confined to Chhattisgarh but extend across India. Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, other mineral-rich states, are experiencing similar issues of increased militarisation and encroachment on indigenous lands, forests, and resources for corporate gains.
Call to action
FORUM-ASIA demands an immediate stop to all development and mining projects carried out without obtaining FPIC and meaningfully consulting the Adivasi communities.
We emphasise the need to end the cycle of impunity by initiating a thorough and independent investigation into the reported human rights abuses and environmental degradation in Chhattisgarh.
The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is a network of 85 member organisations across 23 countries, mainly in Asia. Founded in 1991, FORUM-ASIA works to strengthen movements for human rights and sustainable development through research, advocacy, capacity development and solidarity actions in Asia and beyond. It has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and consultative relationship with the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. The FORUM-ASIA Secretariat is based in Bangkok, with offices in Jakarta, Geneva and Kathmandu. www.forum-asia.org
For media inquiries, please contact:
Communication and Media Programme, FORUM-ASIA, communication@forum-asia.org
KATHMANDU, NEPAL (27 August 2024) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) welcomes the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s concluding observations on the Second Periodic Report of the Maldives that highlight the urgent need for effective measures to safeguard fundamental freedoms and human rights in the country.
Worrying Patterns of Violations
The Committee’s observations align with several concerns outlined in the shadow report FORUM-ASIA–alongside a Maldivian civil society group–submitted on 12 June 2024.
This includes the protection of victims’ rights, particularly in cases of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Families of victims and survivors–like that of forcibly disappeared journalist Ahmed Rilwan Abdullah–continue to seek justice. Despite The Maldives ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in 2023, the state has failed to ensure accountability. This is evidenced by the lack of transparency surrounding the findings of the now-disbanded Presidential Commission on Deaths and Disappearances (DDCom) and their refusal to make it public.
FORUM-ASIA shares the Committee’s concerns regarding the Maldives’ counter-terrorism and extremism framework, particularly the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Its vague and overly broad provisions undermine human rights protections and pose a significant risk of misuse against human rights defenders, civil society organizations, journalists and political opponents.
The arbitrary deregistration of the Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN)—a member organization of FORUM-ASIA—in December 2019, without due process, is a stark example of the severe restrictions on freedom of association in the Maldives. All of MDN’s funds were seized in January 2020. The organization and its staff were made targets of a violent smear campaign and judicial harassment, forcing some into exile.
No concrete actions have been taken against ultra-nationalist extremist groups that have actively targeted civil society organizations and human rights defenders. Similar smear campaigns on social media have also been used to attack activists working on the rights of gender minorities.
These actions constitute grave violations of the fundamental freedoms of expression and association.
The persistent intimidation, harassment, and violence against journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society groups, coupled with excessive use of force and arbitrary arrests in response to peaceful protests, reveal a systematic disregard for civil liberties in the country.
Call to Action
“FORUM-ASIA calls on the Government of the Maldives to promptly implement the recommendations made by the Human Rights Committee,” said Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA.
“To ensure justice for victims and their families, credible, transparent, and independent investigations must be conducted into cases of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings,” Bacalso added.
The findings of the DDCom must be made public without further delay.
We call for the immediate reinstatement of MDN and the return of its seized funds.
The government must also take decisive action to curb threats of violence and prosecute extremist groups, demonstrating its commitment to protecting free expression.
The Maldivian authorities must take immediate and decisive measures to protect journalists and human rights defenders, ensuring they can operate without fear of retribution. Smear campaigns and threats against them should be thoroughly investigated. The government must work towards creating a safe and enabling civic space, wherein people can freely and safely exercise their freedom of expression and right to information.
FORUM-ASIA supports the Committee’s recommendation for the Maldivian Government to adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards the excessive use of force by law enforcement. Those unlawfully detained must be released, and there must be accountability for these violations to restore public trust in the rule of law.
A video of a woman dancing to peppy music is widely viral on social media. On the dais behind the dancer, one can see ‘Justice for R G Kar’ posters. The clip is being shared with the claim that it is from a protest organised by the BJP against the rape and murder in the state-run hospital in Kolkata.
Since the junior doctor was found raped and murdered on August 9, protests, marches and demonstrations seeking accountability from the government and swift punishment of the perpetrator/s have been organised by various social and political groups and other civic institutions in Kolkata, Bengal and beyond. The video is being shared in that context. Users have slammed the BJP and called the event ‘shameful’, ‘sickening’, ‘disgusting’.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member and national spokesperson Saket Gokhale shared the video on X (formerly Twitter). He wrote, “𝐒𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠! This is allegedly from a “protest for RG Kar” organized by BJP in Bengal. Is THIS BJP’s idea of “respecting women”? Creepy BJP misogynists hijacked a protest for political agendas with ZERO concern for the victim or any woman.”
𝐒𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠!
This is allegedly from a “protest for RG Kar” organized by BJP in Bengal.
Is THIS BJP’s idea of “respecting women”?
Creepy BJP misogynists hijacked a protest for political agendas with ZERO concern for the victim or any woman. pic.twitter.com/Pb8NTEJHfe
Another X user named Bhavika Kapoor tweeted the video saying, “BJP can protest in its’ own unique styleHere BJP guys are protesting in West Bengal against RG Kar case. Background banners say “we want justice”. Protest hindutvavadi style ”
BJP can protest in its’ own unique style
Here BJP guys are protesting in West Bengal against RG Kar case.
Background banners say “we want justice”
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate quote-tweeted the above tweet and amplified it.
Others who shared the video and slammed the BJP included author Ashok Kumar Pandey (@Ashok_Kashmir), Trinamool Congress spokesperson Riju Dutta (@DrRijuDutta_TMC), Bengal Trinamool youth secretary Sayan Deb Chatterjee (@SAYANDEBCHATT), a verified user named তন্ময় l T͞anmoy l (@tanmoyofc) and several otehrs.
On careful inspection, we noticed a banner at the rear wall of the stage which had the word ‘Mela’ or fair in Bengali. We also saw that several users had commented on the above social media posts saying it was a village fair. One can see a Ferris wheel and lights of different bright colours a little distance away from the stage which suggest it is indeed a fair ground.
Digging deeper, we did a keyword search on Facebook and found a post by a user named Pijush Bhowmick who responded to the viral claims but only said that the video was being misinterpreted. In his Facebook post, Bhowmick shared another post by a dance teacher named Debastuti Debnath.
Alt News contacted Bhowmick over phone. He told us that the video was not from a BJP protest but a village fair of which he’s an organizing member. The fair is organized by a local club named Sevak Samiti during Maa Manasa Puja every year at Char Bhrahmanagar in Nabadwip police station area in Bengal’s Nadia district. The area is under CMCB gram panchayat of Nabadwip block. The panchayat is currently held by the ruling Trinamool Congress.
Manasa is the Hindu folkloric deity of snakes. She is worshiped in the month of Shravan primarily by women in Bengal and also in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. Rural fairs are organized in several parts of Bengal in the month of August during Manasa Puja.
Bhowmick further stated, “The dates of the fair are fixed. It is held during Maa Manasa Puja, which was on August 17 this year. This time, we decided that we should use the fair to spread our message of protest against the R G Kar incident. Hence, the posters were affixed on the stage. The fair was held from August 17 to 22. The particular dance performance that has gone viral was held on August 19.”
“There is no political intervention in the fair. And it is not a protest organized by any party. The fair draws a large number of people and local tradesmen. We are also disturbed by what happened at the R G Kar hospital and hence we thought it would be fit to amplify our demand for justice through the fair,” he added.
He also shared with us a photo of the dais where the banner can be clearly seen:
It says, “Jai Maa Manasa. Maa Manasa and Behula-Lakhinder Mela on the bank of the Ganges. Date: Five days from 31 Sravana. Place: Char Brahmanagar Sevak Samiti Ground and Ganga River bank. Organized by Sevak Samiti.” The banner also has a photo of the deity.
Behula and Lakhinder are the protagonists of the Manasa Mangal Kavya, a long narrative poem in Bengali retold several times by several poets in the 14th Century, which has now become part of folklore. The poem describes the beginning of the cult of Manasa, the deity.
Bhowmick also shared with us a wide-angle shot of the stage. There is no BJP flag seen anywhere on or beside the stage.
We also procured photos of last year’s fair, held from August 17 to 21, where the same banner was used. This confirms that this is not an event organized this year to protest against a recent incident. In the gallery below, the photos along with their metadata can be seen. They were clicked on August 19 and 21, 2023.
The Facebook post that Bhowmick shared had a dance teacher named Debastuti Debnath thanking the organizers of the fair for inviting them to perform. In an attached video, a girl from the dance troupe says standing on the same dais, “…We are glad that these posters have been put up.. we have to speak up against the horrific crime.. Everyone is protesting against it. This fight is not only of the victim…” The group also observes a minute’s silence in honor of the victim.
We spoke to the dance teacher. She told Alt News, “We have been performing at this event for at least six years. I have never seen any political involvement in the fair. I can confirm that it is not a political programme.”
Another member of the organizing committee, Rahul Saha, told us, “The fair is being held for 15-16 years. There is no political party involved. It primarily attracts local women. Many girls from our village also go out to other places for study or work. Hence, it was decided that we should send out a message. We also switched off all the lights for 15 minutes on one of the days in honour of the slain doctor at R G Kar hospital.”
We saw another video of the fair ground where people can be seen watching a dance performance on the stage. There is no protest going on.
To sum up, several Trinamool Congress-linked social media handles have falsely shared a video of a village fair from Nabadwip in Bengal claiming it’s a protest organized by the BJP against the R G Kar incident.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (26 August 2024) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and its Indonesian members condemn the violent repression of students, activists, journalists, and academia during a series of protests rejecting the Regional Election Bill across Indonesia.
On 22 and 23 August 2024, widespread protests from civil society erupted across major cities in Indonesia following the Parliament’s Legislation Committee’s plan to pass the Regional Election Bill.
Following the protests, the parliament halted the Bill’s approval. Nevertheless, more protests are scheduled within the next few days as the election registration period will take place on 27 to 29 August. In the past, the parliament has also temporarily suspended the approval of certain bills following protests–only to approve them during weekends, deep into the night. This was how the controversial Omnibus Law on Job Creation was passed.
Regional Election Bill
If passed, the Regional Election Bill would have overturned two Constitutional Court rulings that lowered the threshold for nominees of regional elections by political parties or their coalition and affirmed the minimum age requirement interpretation for regional election candidates.
The original threshold would only allow nominees by political parties or its coalition who have 20 percent of Regional Representative Council Seats or 25 percent of votes during the Regional Representative Council election. The Constitutional Court lowered the threshold to 10 percent, 8.5 percent, 7.5 percent, and 6.5 percent depending on the number of registered voters in the relevant provinces. It also disqualified the requirement for political parties or its coalition to have Regional Representative Council seats in order to nominate candidates.
In preparation for the upcoming elections, President-elect Prabowo Subianto has expanded his coalition of parties, Koalisi Indonesia Maju, to almost all parties with legislature seats. This would inevitably ensure the victory of his coalition’s nominees in the regional elections.
On the other hand, the affirmation of the minimum age requirement is made due to the contrasting Supreme Court decision that interpreted the minimum age requirement to be applicable by the time of inauguration instead of the registration period. Without the Constitutional Court’s affirmation, the Supreme Court’s interpretation would have facilitated the candidacy of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s youngest son in the elections despite his age being below the requirements at the time of the registration period. A victory for Jokowi’s son would have further advanced the family’s political dynasty.
The Constitutional Court rulings are therefore highly progressive as it would pave the way for more political pluralism in Indonesia, which has historically favored political elites and nepotism.
The push for the Bill’s approval came swiftly within only 24 hours of the Constitutional Courts’ rulings. If approved, the Bill would have hindered any political pluralism in the upcoming regional elections which are set to take place in November across 37 provinces.
Police brutality against protestors
During the protests, FORUM-ASIA member organizations have documented cases of police brutality against protestors.
The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), the Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), and the the Alliance for Independence Journalists (AJI) documented how the police used tear gas and water cannons to forcefully disperse protests, resulting in severe injuries and the hospitalization of protestors.
The police also reportedly committed beatings and mass arbitrary arrests. Many protestors were allegedly denied access to legal assistance, with some reporting to have experienced extortion from the authorities
Call to action
The police should abide by the principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality while handling the protests–as regulated by the National Police Chief Regulation 1/2009 on the Use of Force in Policing Actions. However, documentation from civil society revealed the police’s blatant disregard of these principles.
As previously affirmed by Indonesia’s National Human Rights Commission, the police have consistently remained as the top perpetrator of human rights violations in the country. FORUM-ASIA urges Indonesian police to respect people’s freedom of peaceful assembly and association. The police should not use excessive force in the upcoming protests.
People’s right to peaceful protest is guaranteed under the Indonesian Constitution as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which Indonesia is a state party to.
“FORUM-ASIA calls on the Indonesian Government to immediately and unconditionally release those who have been arbitrarily arrested by the police,” said Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA, “Those responsible for acts of brutality during the August protests should be held accountable. And all complaints from civil society must be thoroughly investigated.”
“The people have the right to peacefully fight for democracy. They should not be punished for calling the government to act in their interest rather than that of the political elites. Instead of focusing on violence and repression, the police should protect people’s fundamental rights and freedoms,” Bacalso stressed.
##
About FORUM-ASIA:
The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is a network of 85 member organisations across 23 countries, mainly in Asia. Founded in 1991, FORUM-ASIA works to strengthen movements for human rights and sustainable development through research, advocacy, capacity development and solidarity actions in Asia and beyond. It has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and consultative relationship with the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. The FORUM-ASIA Secretariat is based in Bangkok, with offices in Jakarta, Geneva and Kathmandu. www.forum-asia.org
For media inquiries, please contact:
Communication and Media Programme, FORUM-ASIA, communication@forum-asia.org
The two persons who have been most frequently named in social media theories as accused in the R G Kar rape and murder case in Kolkata are Arshean Alam and Golam Azam. Both of them work as house staff at the same hospital where the female postgraduate trainee’s (PGT) body was found on August 9. An Alt News investigation has already established that Arshean Alam was at his home at the time of the commissioning of the crime and is being targeted without any evidence of involvement whatsoever. This story is about Golam Azam and his whereabouts on the night of the incident.
Right-wing X user Hindutva Knight (@HPhobiaWatch) tweeted images of Arshean and Golam, claiming that the Bengal government was trying to protect them. The tweet has garnered 22 Lakh views and has been retweeted over 7,000 times. This claim was further amplified by Right-wing columnist Madhu Kishwar, who shared a list that included Arshean and Golam’s names. Kishwar alleged that all the people on the list had been absconding. She claimed that their names “explain(ed)” why there was a “determined attempt to shield them” and added that one man (arguably referring to Sanjay Roy, the prime accused and only person arrested in the case) had been “tricked into raping her dead body.”
Media outlet ABP Live mentioned Golam Azam’s name in a report.
Twitter user @MrNationalistJJ tweeted pictures of the social media profiles of three individuals, one of which is Golam. This user claims that these three, whom he identified as ‘the culprits’, had left the country. (Archive)
Golam’s name was circulated with the same claim by various other social media users. On Facebook, a post mentioning his name as a suspect was published on a group page named West Bengal Doctors Forum. (Archives 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Facebook has since been flooded with these claims. Below is a 40 second screen recording of some posts on Facebook making the same allegation.
Alt News Investigation
Dr Golam Azam, a 2018-entrant into the MBBS course at R G Kar medical College and Hospital, completed his mandatory one-year internship and subsequently became a house staff at the chest medicine department of the same hospital, much like Arshean. He was on duty on the night of the alleged rape and murder.
During investigation, Alt News recorded three testimonies: one from a source within the Kolkata Police, one from a doctor who was also on duty at the emergency ward that night, and one from another junior doctor from the chest medicine department.
The emergency ward is on the ground floor of the emergency building, while the seminar room, where the body was found, is on the third floor.
Below is a graphical representation of the corroborating testimonies that we got:
Testimony I: Kolkata Police
A Kolkata Police source gave their testimony to Alt News based on their examination of the CCTV footage. They told us, “On that day, Dr Golam’s duty was on the ground floor. He went twice to the third floor, first to have dinner. He had dinner with the victim and others, and that was between 12 and 1 am. Then he came down. Then CCTV clearly shows that he is going to the third floor around 3 am. He is seen entering a room where some tests are conducted. After that, he’s seen coming out with certain papers and going towards the seminar room, and within 5-6 minutes he comes back and comes down to the ground floor. Around 3:15, he is seen leaving the hospital and never comes back again that night. While on the third floor, he peeps into the seminar hall momentarily to look for Dr ***. (Alt News is withholding this name. This is not the victim.) He comes back in the morning after people inform him that this is what has happened.”
Keeping the above time frame in mind, several significant details come out from the above testimony.
Golam Azam went to the third floor around 3 am.
He is seen with some papers in his hand peeping into the seminar room.
He comes back to the ground floor within 5-6 minutes.
He leaves the emergency building at 3.15 am and comes back only on the following morning.
Alt News found in its probe that after leaving the emergency building, Azam went to the hostel on the campus. This was corroborated by the Kolkata Police source. They confirmed to us that they had examined footage from the CCTV camera outside the hostel.
Testimony II: Doctor at the Emergency Ward who was on Duty that Night
Alt News spoke to a doctor in the emergency ward who was on call on the same day. Their duty hours overlapped with that of Golam’s. According to their statement, Golam’s duty hours began at 9 pm on August 8.
This doctor told us, “He went upstairs around 1 am to have dinner with the victim and other colleagues. Later, he mentioned that there were no more chest patients, so he was leaving. I saw him taking his bag and exiting the emergency ward. I, too, was in the emergency ward at that time. I don’t recall the exact time he left, but it was after 2:30 am. The ER was very busy that night, so I didn’t check the time.”
The most crucial detail in this testimony is that Golam left the emergency some time after 2.30 am that night. This corroborates the testimony from Kolkata Police. Although the second testimony does not have the exact time Golam left, they confirmed that Golam met them in the emergency and informed them he was leaving because there were “no more chest patients.” He then took his bag and left.
It is worth noting that under normal circumstances, people generally don’t keep track of exact timings for events that seem routine at the moment.
Testimony III: Doctor at Chest Medicine Department
Alt News also spoke to a doctor at the chest medicine department of R G Kar Hospital who is in the know of Golam’s whereabouts from that night. They told us, “Golam was on duty at the emergency on the night of the incident. He visited the third floor twice — first at around 1 am to have dinner with colleagues, including the victim. The second visit was at 3 am to retrieve lab results. Afterwards, he went to the seminar hall to find another doctor posted at the chest department, but the doctor wasn’t there. Instead, Golam found the victim sleeping in the hall. He left the third floor within five minutes and returned to the emergency ward.”
Alt News tried multiple times to speak to Golam Azam directly, but he declined to comment. We can, however, confirm that he is not absconding and is cooperating in the investigation.
All these corroborating testimonies establish the whereabouts of Golam Azam in the emergency building between 3 and 3.15 am on the night of the alleged crime. And at 3.15 am he leaves the building and does not come back till the next morning, Kolkata Police sources confirmed to us upon the examination of CCTV footage. The prime accused is seen entering the emergency building around 4 and leaving around 4.40 am. Taken together, these establish the fact that Golam Azam can not be involved in the commissioning of the crime at R G Kar hospital that night. The social media trial of him, as such trials often are, is not backed by any evidence whatsoever.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud heard the Kolkata R G Kar rape and murder case on August 22, 2024. This was the second hearing of the matter in the apex court. During the hearing, several questions were raised about the chronology of events on August 9, when the body of the junior doctor was discovered in the third-floor seminar room of the state-run hospital.
In this context, the editor-in-chief of Right-wing propaganda website, OpIndia, Nupur J Sharma claimed in a tweet that the Supreme Court said that the crime scene at the R G Kar hospital had been altered.
Most of the above tweets, including the one by Nupur J Sharma, were shared in response to a tweet by Kolkata police from August 15, in which they asserted that the vandalism on the previous night had not impacted the seminar room.
Fact Check
To verify the claim, we looked at the X timeline of Live Law and Bar and Bench. Both these legal-reporting handles live-tweeted the proceedings from the Supreme Court.
Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) reported at 11:49 am on August 22 that the CBI counsel, Tushar Mehta, the solicitor general of India (SG), said they did not possess any medical examination report of the accused in the case. He added that they had entered the investigation on the fifth day and everything was altered by then.
The body of the junior doctor was found on August 9. The Calcutta high court handed over the investigation to the central agency on August 13. The CBI took over on August 14.
Below is the Live Law tweet:
SG: we didn’t know there is such report, we entered the investigation on the 5th day, everything was altered
The Bar and Bench also published a full report of the Court proceedings. The relevant part is highlighted below.
The proceedings were also live telecast. We procured the video of the court proceeding from the X handle of media outlet Mirror Now (@MirrorNow), where we located the conversation:
Hearing underway on #Kolkata doctor rape-murder case in #SupremeCourt#CJI-led bench goes through the status reports submitted by #CBI and Bengal govt
0.20-seconds onward in the above video, we can hear the SG saying, “My lord, we entered on the fifth day.. Whatever was collected by the local police, my lord was given to us, and our investigation starts.. And that is itself a challenge by itself.. The scene of offence is altered…” (sic)
We went through the entire proceedings of August 22 but we could not find the CJI or the other members of the Bench stating that the crime scene had been altered.
All major newspapers carried the comments by the CBI counsel on their August 23 editions. Below are a few examples:
None of them mentioned the court having made the observation.
Therefore, the claim by OpIndia editor Nupur J Sharma and the others is false. The Supreme Court did not state the crime scene was altered. It was a claim made by CBI counsel Tushar Mehta, the solicitor general of India.
Interestingly, OpIndia itself published a report on the SC hearing where the headline mentioned that the CBI said in court that the crime scene had been altered.
BANGKOK, Thailand (22 August 2024) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is deeply concerned over the arrests of more than 70 activists, protesters, and members of the opposition Candlelight Party ahead of a planned rally against the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Areas (CLV-DTA) agreement.
Such a crackdown on peaceful protests violates people’s freedoms of peaceful assembly, association, and expression.
Launched in 2004, the CLV-DTA agreement is an economic cooperation deal between Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. It aims to enhance socio-economic development, connectivity, and infrastructure in the region. However, activists are concerned that under the agreement, agricultural land concessions to Vietnamese or Lao investors could result in the loss of Cambodian territory and natural resources.
A series of arrests
It was reported that protesters planned to organise a rally on 18 August 2024 in front of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, demanding the government to withdraw from the CLV-DTA agreement.
Police then established barricades on major roads leading to the capital, setting up roadblocks near the Royal Palace. Over 1,000 officers were prepared to intervene in the event of protest, according to Phnom Penh Police Chief Chuon Narin. Justice Minister Koeut Rith warned that protesters could be charged with treason and may face prison sentences of 15 to 30 years.
On 18 August, four members of the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association were arrested for unknown reasons. Their office was shut down by police on the orders of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court. For allegedly mobilising people for the planned protest, 31 others were also arrested.
On 17 August, a day before the alleged planned rally, at least 20 activists were arrested. Among the arrested were 16 youths who planned to attend a youth forum on social protection. The said forum was cancelled; meanwhile, the youths were summoned for questioning by the authorities. They were then released the next day.
Three members of the opposition Candlelight Party–Sun Piseth, Lor Thorn, and Meas Kol–were also arrested for unknown reasons.
On 16 August, Sem Sophal, a Grassroots Democratic Party activist was also arrested for unknown reasons, prompting the party to issue a statement demanding his release. Around 14 others were arrested for allegedly inciting people to revolt against the government. On 15 August, a provincial court charged Candlelight Party member Sok Chea with plotting incitement by allegedly posting an online message to not support the CLV-DTA agreement.
On 23 July, activists Srun Srorn, Peng Sophea, and San Sith were arrested following the publication of their video on Facebook, conveying the CLV-DTA agreement’s potential negative impacts. Their arrest order came directly from former Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Call to action
FORUM-ASIA calls on the Cambodian Government to immediately and unconditionally release all detained human rights activists, protesters, and other voices of dissents.
Rather than silencing dissent, Cambodian authorities should facilitate, respect, and address people’s demands expressed through peaceful protests.
We also call on the international community to closely monitor the situation and to support efforts to protect human rights and democratic freedoms in Cambodia.
“The mass arrests of activists, students, and youth stifle people’s right to engage in public discourse and peaceful protests. The arbitrary detention of protestors or those expressing their political views infringes on people’s freedom of expression,” said Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA.
“These actions violate international human rights standards and democratic principles, contributing to the erosion of Cambodia’s civic space,” Bacalso added.
Several Right-wing X (formerly Twitter) handles have shared a 2.15-minute video claiming that it shows the harassment and physical assault of a Hindu teacher in Bangladesh.
Numerous incidents of targeted attacks on Hindus have been reported from the neighbouring country in the wake of the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5. The video is being circulated in that context.
The video shows several men heckling an older man. They first staple what appears to be cigarette packets to his shirt collar, then force him to drink from a glass and finally pour something from a bottle on him. A commentator then appears in the video and states that the man being heckled is Gautam Pal, a popular teacher of mathematics from Azimpur Girls’ College, who was forced to resign. The video ends abruptly with the commentator claiming Hindu teachers were being targeted.
Vice-president of ISKCON Kolkata Radharaman Das, who shares communal misinformation on a regular basis, amplified the video with the same claim.
Another Hindu teacher in Bangladesh has been insulted by Muslim students he once taught and was forced to resign. Every day, thousands of Hindus in Bangladesh are being pressured to sign resignation letters. Their aim is to remove all 2.5 million Hindus working in Bangladesh.… pic.twitter.com/g4NyjnHfpp
The clip was also shared along with the Hindu-teacher-being-targeted claim by users such as Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt), Baba Banaras (@RealBababanaras), Bloody Media (@bloody_media), Ajeet Bharti (@ajeetbharti) and others.
Author and economist Sanjeev Sanyal quote-tweeted Radharaman Das and wrote, “Of course channels like
@dwnews and @BBCWorld think that that this perfectly reasonable behaviour from “students” in Bangladesh. How is this different from Nazi Germany?? Or perhaps this treatment of Hindus is thought justified in the same way that the ancestors of @dwnews journalists treated the Jews.”
Fact Check
We notice the words ‘Chapai Express’ written on the frame of the viral video. Chapai Nawabganj is a district in northwestern Bangladesh under Rajsahi division. We performed a relevant keyword search in Bengali and found several reports on an incident that transpired at the office of Chapai Nawabganj civiv body. These reports carried images which showed the same incident of harassment.
According to a report by bdnews24.com, a group of youths forced a government official at Chapainawabganj municipality to resign after finding two packs of cigarettes in his office drawer on Monday, August 19, 2024. The official was identified as Taufiq Islam, an executive engineer with the civic body. The action against him was spearheaded by Ismail Hossain Sirazi, a local leader of the students’ movement.
Quoting municipal executive officer Mamun Aur Rashid, the bdnews24.com report adds that Islam fell ‘unconscious’ after the incident and was taken him to a hospital. The student activists had also forced two other municipal officials to wirte resignation letters on white papers, the report says.
Another report, by banglatribune.com narrated the same events and added that the executive engineer, Taufiq Islam, had stopped going to office after returning home from hospital.
We also found a video report on the incident by media outlet Swadesh Pratidin, where the man leading the youth, Ismail Hossain Sirazi, claims that civic body officials had voluntarily resigned. Below is a screenshot from the video report which captures the incident.
Hence, it is clear that the incident is being falsely given a communal colour by Indian social media users. It is not a case of an attack on a Hindu in Bangladesh. The video shows a municipal engineer named Taufiq Islam being heckled by student protesters in Chapai Nawabganj of Rajsahi division in Bangladesh.
Several social media users have shared the ‘news’ that a girl named Ankita Bauri, a student of Burdwan University in West Bengal, was raped and murdered while she was on her way back home from a protest on the intervening night of August 14 and 15 against the rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.
X user (@ridhima_z) made the same claim in a tweet on August 16 and also wrote that the face of the victim was smashed with a stone to make her unrecognizable. (Archive)
Another user, Ayan (@syedayan24), highlighted how unfortunate it was that the alleged victim, Ankita Bauri, had to lose her life while returning home after demanding justice for the brutal rape and murder in Kolkata. (Archive)
Several other users on X also shared the viral claim.
We ran a relevant keyword search and found an article in The Statesman which reported the murder of a 25-year-old tribal woman named Priyanka Hansda, a postgraduate student of Philosophy in Burdwan University, in the Nandur village in Burdwan. The report states that she was found with her throat slit in a farmland, around 50 metres away from her house, on the intervening night of August 14 and 15.
The article also states that it was initially suspected that the woman had been raped and murdered, when the news broke out initially on the morning of Independence Day. The Statesman report, however, quotes the SP of East Burdwan, Amandeep Singh, as clarifying that no evidence of sexual assault was found in the autopsy.
We found another report by The Telegraph, which states that “East Burdwan police held a news conference on Friday to clarify that the 22-year-old tribal woman, whose body was found on Thursday with her throat slit, had not been raped.”
However, we were unable to find any reports on a student named Ankita Bauri being raped and murdered.
Besides, the official X handle of Purba Bardhaman (East Burdwan) Police responded to the viral claim, calling it a ‘rumour.’ They clarified that no such incident of a girl named Ankita Bauri being raped and murdered had happened in Burdwan, and warned social media users against spreading rumours.
Some people are spreading rumours that a girl named Ankita Bauri has been raped and murdered on 14th August when she was returning home after taking part in a march connected with RG Kar incident.
…(1/2)
We also found a post on the East Burdwan District Police’s official Facebook profile, which sheds light on the rumours surrounding the alleged rape and murder of Ankita Bauri. The post, which is in the Bengali, says, “Some people are spreading rumours that a girl named Ankita Bauri has been raped and murdered on 14th August when she was returning home after taking part in a march connected with RG Kar incident. The fact is that no such incident of rape and murder of girl named Ankita Bauri has happened in Burdwan. Strong action is being taken against people for spreading such rumours. Purba Burdwan police is committed to the safety and security of women.”
কিছু অসাধু ব্যক্তি সামাজিক মাধ্যমে গুজব ছড়াচ্ছে যে অঙ্কিতা বাউরি নামে একটি মেয়ে 14ই আগস্ট যখন আরজি কর ঘটনার সাথে…
To sum up, the viral social media claim alleging that Ankita Bauri, a student returning from a site of protest on the night of August 15, was brutally raped and murdered, is fabricated. The body of a tribal girl named Priyanka Hansda was found in a farmland in Nandur, Burdwan, on the morning of August 15. Police confirmed she had not been raped. However, no incident involving a victim named Ankita Bauri has come to the fore, cops have confirmed.
A 31-year-old doctor was allegedly raped and murdered at the state-run RG Kar Medical Hospital and College in Kolkata in the wee hours of August 10. Her body was discovered the following morning.
A young house staff working at the same hospital reached his workplace around 3 pm that afternoon after being informed by his friends about the horrific crime. Like other students and doctors in Kolkata, he actively joined the protests at R G Kar, demanding justice for the victim and increased security measures on the campus.
However, today, Dr Arshean Alam is scared to leave his home. What happened between then and now is a social media trial in which his name was floated as one of the accused in the case. Some posts directly claimed he was one of the ‘real culprits’ or ‘murderers’.
Social Media Trial of Arshean Alam
As calls for swift action in the case grew louder, Kolkata Police arrested a civic volunteer named Sanjay Roy based on circumstantial evidence and CCTV footage. According to the latest reports, DNA reports, too, have confirmed his involvement. Forensic experts collected skin samples from the victim’s fingernails and found injuries on Sanjay’s body. On August 13, the Calcutta High Court handed over the case to the CBI, which currently has Sanjay in its custody.
At the same time, several theories have surfaced in public discourse and on social media vis-a-vis the circumstances of the postgraduate trainee’s death. Some people have opined that Sanjay Roy was being made a scapegoat to protect someone. It is also being claimed that the commission of the crime involved more than one person. In this connection, some specific names of doctors from the hospital have surfaced as the accused in the case.
Arshean Alam is one of the names. His name, along with that of another Muslim house staff, is particularly viral across social media platforms.
Right Wing X user Hindutva Knight (@HPhobiaWatch) tweeted the images of Arshean and the other Muslim R G Kar house staff and claimed that the Bengal government was trying to shelter the two. The tweet has received more than 10 Lakh views and has been retweeted over 7,000 times.
The Kolkata Police served a notice on the user on grounds of peddling misinformation. In response, the user again tweeted that they would not be deleting their tweet since they felt that the Kolkata Police’s intentions were not right and that the police were trying to save “a few high profile accused.”
Media outlets ABP Live and News 18 mentioned Arshean’s name in their reports.
The claim was also amplified by Right-wing columnist Madhu Kishwar. She tweeted a list which includes Arshean’s name. She claimed that all of the people named were absconding. It is worth noting that most of the names on the list are Muslims and Kishwar claims that the “names explain” why there is a “determined attempt to shield them” and hang Sanjoy Roy who she claims was “tricked into raping her dead body”.
It is being ALLEGED that these five Geniuses could be the ones guilty of barbaric rape &murder of M in the #RGKarCollege .
They are reportedly absconding since August 9.
The names may explain why there is such a determined attempt to shield them and hang just ONE man who was… https://t.co/QKRKRU52Gcpic.twitter.com/bb1KZXH2xt
Twitter user @MrNationalistJJ tweeted pictures of social media profiles of three names, one of which is Arshean’s. This user claims that these three, whom he identifies as ‘the culprits’, had left the country. (Archive)
Arshean’s name was circulated with the same claim by various other social media users. On Facebook, a post mentioning his name as a suspect was published on a group page named West Bengal Doctors Forum. (Archives- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Facebook has since been flooded with these claims. Below is a 1-minute screen recording of some posts on Facebook making the same allegation. However, these posts represent only the tip of the iceberg.
Alt News Investigation
Arshean Alam belongs to the batch of 2018 at the government-run R G Kar medical college. He completed his MBBS in 2023 and then did a mandatory one-year internship. After his convocation on May 3, 2024, he joined as a house staff at the trauma care unit of R G Kar Hospital. Alt News could independently establish that Arshean was at home and not at the hospital on the night of the alleged crime.
The autopsy of the slain doctor put the time of death between 3 and 5 am. Sanjay Roy, the prime accused, was seen entering the seminar hall on the third floor in the emergency building of the hospital around 4 am. During our investigation into Arshean’s whereabouts on that night, we reviewed CCTV footage from a shop next to his house, covering the hours between 1 am and 5 am. In the viewing of the footage, we found Arshean entering his home at 1.16 am, which is well before the time of the commission of the crime. We observed no movement from Arshean till 5 am, which confirms that he was at home when the crime was committed.
We visited his house and confirmed that there was no second exit through which one could get in or out. Other than the main entry/exit, we found another exit which was closed with an iron shutter, and locals told us that the shutter had been dysfunctional for at least one year. On the outside, we found pieces of rag hanging from a rope tied to it, further suggesting that the exit is not in use.
Alt News also spoke to joint commissioner (crime) of Kolkata Police Murlidhar Sharma who had been directly involved in the investigation before CBI took over. He told us that according to their findings, Arshean was not involved in the case in any way.
All of this proves with certainty that the suggestion on social media that Arshean Alam was directly involved in the commissioning of the crime at Kolkata’s R G Kar hospital is false. And he is not absconding.
Alt News spoke at length to Arshean. He said, “I am in a state of mental distress. I was at home, yet I am being implicated in this case. This has been incredibly difficult for me and my family. My reputation in society is being tarnished, and this amounts to defamation. A hate campaign is being spread by various social media accounts, and I fear for my safety and that of my family.”
He also informed us that he had filed an FIR against social media users who actively amplified baseless claims against him. Alt News saw a copy of the FIR. According to his complaint, the users posted several messages along with his photographs with the intent to promote enmity on communal grounds. It was further alleged that the messages contained false and fabricated accusations intended to implicate him in criminal cases and malign his reputation. The FIR has been filed under Sections 356, 351, 192, 196, and 61(2) of the BNS Act. Arshean has also mailed social media platforms regarding this.
We also spoke to a close friend and batchmate of Arshean. He told us, “We’re all upset about what’s happening to him. I know he couldn’t have done it because he was at home. Now his entire career is at stake. People have started abusing us for our association with Arshean, and our pictures with him online are flooded with abusive remarks. Our entire circle has been kicked out of the batch’s WhatsApp group because of this social media trial.”
At the time of the writing of this article, the claim is also viral on Instagram and WhatsApp. On Instagram, templates carrying his name have been shared extensively.
Following the alleged rape and murder of a doctor (postgraduate trainee) at the government-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, various claims about the circumstances of her death have surfaced on social media. One such claim that has gone viral is that the victim’s pelvic girdle, collarbone and hyoid bone were found broken or fractured.
While commenting on a tweet, an X user named N (@jadore_sucre) wrote: “Not just raped, they completely destroyed her. Broken pelvic girdle, broken bones, scratches and marks all over her body. Neck practically broken…” The comment has received more than 2.6 Lakh views and has been retweeted over 400 times. (Archive)
Senior journalist Barkha Dutt hosted a show on Mojo Story on August 14 with the title “Legs Wrenched Open, Pelvic Girdle Broken” I Kolkata Doctor Rape & Murder Cover Up”.
At the 22-second mark, the journalist says that the victim’s family has broken silence on the condition that they found their daughter with multiple fractures. Later, at 4:10, she asks a doctor on the panel to talk about the multiple pelvic fractures. They run a ticker throughout the video that says, ‘Multiple pelvic fractures, not work of one man’ – Dr Raja Dhar. However, Dhar, who is present on the show, doesn’t say that in the video. Appearing on another show by Mojo Story, Dhar said , “… there is such a lot circulating in the social media. So what’s come to us has been the fact that there has been multiple fractures including a pelvic fracture…” (sic)
Another X user named des (@tokyoblissx) posted a list of 13 alleged injuries allegedly found on the victim including a broken hyoid bone, pelvic bone and broken ring finger on the right hand. (Archive)
A premium subscribed X user, @epicnephrin_e, has been actively posting unverified information related to the rape-murder case. The user shared a video featuring a woman who the user claimed was the victim’s relative. The woman in the video claims that the victim’s legs were wide apart at right angles which would be possible only if the pelvic girdle is broken. (Archive)
Here her relative reveals that her legs were found in right angles,which can only happen if your pelvic girdle is broken(as she mentioned) https://t.co/MOKkqbPf0V
Originally, this video is part of an interview of the woman published by media outlet The Lallantop. They identified her as a neighbour of the victim’s family. She says there is mention of the pelvic girdle fracture in the post-mortem report.
‘3 घंटे तक इंतज़ार करवाया.. हम हाथ जोड़ते रहे’
‘हम प्रधानमंत्री और राष्ट्रपति से गुहार लगाते हैं…’
Another user, Sauvik Raha (@RahaSauvik), made the same claim. (Archive)
Broken pelvic girdle. Broken collar bone. Injuries on the temporal bone of her skull and blood coagulation on its frontal portion. Multiple external injuries on the lower and upper lips, nose, cheeks and lower jaw. Limbs disfigured. “Her legs were 90 degrees apart” when her… pic.twitter.com/EcCQdVb8y5
A YouTube video by a channel called ‘Prakhar ke Pravachan’ with over 1 million subscribers was posted on August 17. In the video, the channel host invited two doctors to speak about the case. Dr Rakshita Singh was among the two guests and at the 7:45 mark of the video, she says that the aunt of the victim had said that the victim’s legs were wide apart and then Dr Singh concludes that this meant that the pelvic girdle was broken.
The claim has been shared by users across multiple social media platforms, including as an Instagram template which has been shared over 34 Lakh times. Below are a few instances:
Besides, an audio message has gone wildly viral on WhatsApp in which a woman identifies herself as a physician named Soma Mukherjee. She claims that the victim’s legs were torn apart and her pelvic bone and collar bone were fractured. We are not embedding the clip here as it has several unverified claims.
Fact Check
Alt News was able to access the post-mortem report of the victim through police sources. The post-mortem report mentions several injuries but states that no bone fractures were found on the victim’s body.
The report mentions injuries and condition of various organs in a tabular format. In a row titled ‘Muscles Bones and Joints’, one column says Fracture — Not Found. Another says Dislocation — Nil.
We reached out to a forensic expert who said, “This does not suggest that there’s fracture of the hyoid bone, which one would expect in cases of strangulation and in hanging”.
The readers should note that the PM report says death occurred due to effects of manual strangulation associated with smothering.
We also came across a report by The Telegraph that mentioned that an additional commissioner of police had said that the post-mortem report showed no fractures. The report also mentioned that the entire post-mortem had been videographed and handed over to the CBI team.
To sum up, the viral claims that the pelvic girdle, collarbone and hyoid bone of the deceased doctor were found fractured are not supported by the post-mortem examination report. The report does not mention any fractures.
A week into the alleged rape and murder of a doctor (a postgraduate trainee) at Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, several theories have surfaced in public discourse about the circumstances in which she was killed. The claim that about 150 grams of semen was found in the victim’s body has gone viral on social media and messaging apps such as WhatsApp. Some media outlets also reported it.
In an interview with Barkha Dutt on Mojo Story published on August 16, a physician named Subarna Goswami claimed that 150 grams of white liquid that appeared to be semen was found in the body during post-mortem (PM) examination.
Around the 23-minute mark in the interview, Dutt asks Goswami if there could be more than one perpetrator. The doctor claims that the victim’s parents had shared the original post-mortem report with him. After talking about the various injuries mentioned in it, he adds, “They also collected white thick viscid fluid from deep inside the vagina which weighing 151 grams.. 151 grams. and even if it is mixed with some other body fluid like vaginal discharge or you know maybe mucus or some other tissues, but this much amount of semen.. it appears to be semen.. it is to be proved in the forensic lab only.. but this white thick viscid fluid appears to semen as penetration was there… it is clearly written hymen was ruptured at 10 o’clock position… and penetration was there. So it must be semen, nothing other than semen. So this much amount of semen.. it cannot come out from a single rapist. There is every possibility of the involvement of multiple rapists…” (sic)
Goswami is the additional general secretary of the All India Federation of Govt Doctors’ Association. The video has 44,000 views on YouTube. The remarks made by Goswami were carried by multiple media outlets, including the New York Times, India Today, Business Today, The Times of India, and Firstpost among others.
The claim was also made by the victim’s lawyer in the petition filed in the court. The concerned point in the petition reads, “The presence of 150 mg of semen in the hymen, a quantity suggesting involvement of more than one individual, further corroborated the suspicion of gang rape.”
The lawyer representing the family, senior CPI(M) leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya asserted in a video interview that the PM report said 150mg white liquid was found in the body. He adds that he never made the assertion that the liquid was semen.
The claim is viral on X (formerly Twitter). Here are some of the tweets which make the claim that 150 grams of semen was found in the victim’s body:
On Instagram, a template that was shared as ‘story’ over 3.4 million times made the same claim.
Fact Check
Alt News was able to access the post-mortem report of the victim through police sources.
The report consists of multiple rows corresponding to different sections of the body namely thorax, abdomen, cranium and spinal canal, and more. Each row, again, has multiple columns for different organs and parts such as brain, stomach, lung, kidney, and spleen. In many of these cells, the weight of the corresponding organ is stated using the abbreviation ‘Wt’. For eg, the weight of the heart is stated as “Wt- 212gm”, and the weight of the spleen is stated as “Wt- 90gm”.
In a cell titled ‘External and Internal Genitalia’, it is stated, “As noted. White thick viscid liquid present inside endocervical canal, which is collected as noted above. Wt-151gm.”
It would seem that those who initially claimed 150 grams of semen probably misconstrued the above sentence as suggesting that the weight of the thick liquid was 150 grams. However, the weight specified here is that of the ‘External and Internal genitalia’.
Alt News spoke with a forensic expert who on condition of anonymity told us, “Usually seminal liquid is measured in ml (volume), not gm (weight). The PM Report has weights of other organs in grams including the heart, liver, kidney, spleen etc. 151 grams is the collective weight of the internal and external genitalia. Nowhere in the report does it mention that 150mg of semen recovered as claimed”.
The Kolkata police also termed this claim to be false in a press briefing.
#WATCH | Kolkata: West Bengal Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal says, “Far too many rumours are floating which have no basis, and based on them, a lot of so-called experts are creating narratives…The case has now gone to the CBI and let’s have faith in the agency. In the… pic.twitter.com/vMIfh0B3SR
TMC MP Mahua Moitra in a video posted her X (formerly Twitter) account, also stated that, “This was the total weight of the internal viscera or the reproductive organs, it has got nothing to do with the bodily fluids found.”
Therefore, those on the victim’s side who floated this claim seemingly misread the post-mortem, and then this rumour gained a life of its own on social media leading to further theories of gang rape. The possibility of more than one accused cannot be ruled out, and the CBI is investigating this case. However, the claim that 150 grams of semen was found in the victim’s body is false.
A week into the alleged rape and murder of a doctor (a postgraduate trainee at the pulmonary medicine department) at Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, several theories have surfaced in public discourse about the circumstances in which she was killed. The body of the young doctor was found in the seminar room on the third floor of the emergency building of the hospital on the morning of August 9. Before the investigation was handed over to the CBI on August 13, Sanjay Roy (31), a civic volunteer, was arrested by Kolkata Police as the prime suspect in the alleged crime.
Soon after, the claim that the seminar room had been vandalized to destroy crucial evidence in the case started doing the rounds on social media. This correspondent received a screenshot of a WhatsApp group chat among doctors at 1.48 am on August 15 when the vandalism was still on. One person in the chat says, “The seminar room is probably burnt”. Another participant confirms this saying, “Yes. Completely”. The screenshot later went viral.
At 2.02 am — this was the time police had the situation under some control — senior journalist Barkha Dutt tweeted, “The emergency room at #RGKarCollege where the rape and murder took place has been destroyed by a violent mob.”
What is happening at this hour in #Kolkata is absolutely Insane. The emergency room at #RGKarCollege where the rape and murder took place has been destroyed by a violent mob. Multiple doctors I’ve spoken to say “the police did nothing to help us” . Breaking @themojostorypic.twitter.com/ToLfvBS94c
On August 17, Republic World published a report titled, “Did Rioters Vandalise RG Kar Seminar Room On Purpose to Destroy Evidence? New Video Surfaces”.
As seen above, the blurb below the headline says, “A shocking video has surfaced which hints at the fact that the seminar room was vandalised by the mob on purpose, to destroy evidence.”
The claim went viral on social media as well. Here are a few Facebook posts claiming the same:
To begin with, we noticed that the official X handle of Kolkata Police had quote-tweeted journalist Barkha Dutt and wrote that the crime scene “is Seminar Room which is intact and has not been touched.”
Crime of Scene is Seminar Room which is intact and has not been touched. Don’t spread fake news. We will take legal action. https://t.co/A7PDWYAO4E
To this, the journalist replied saying that her tweet was factually correct and she did not claim that the seminar room had been destroyed.
Next, we checked footage from the reportage by various news outlets from the R G Kar Hospital after the vandalism. Independent journalist Tamal Saha of NTT went to the spot and livestreamed a report which starts at a time when police can be seen trying to bring the situation under control.
Around the 42-minute mark in the livestream (Saha mentions that the time is 2.30 am), the journalist enters the hospital building and checks out the gates through which one can go upstairs. He also speaks to the private security guards. Around the 58-minute mark onward, he takes the stairs to the upper floors. The live report shows a wooden door of a store room on the second floor broken and partially separated from its frames. However, the doors of the third (this is the floor where the seminar room is located) and the fourth floors are intact. This is clearly seen in the video and asserted by the journalist who physically checks them. A private security guard who accompanies him confirms that the miscreants could not reach the upper floors and those were locked.
ABP Ananda, too, telecast footage of the attack, where some of the perpetrators are heard saying, ‘Let’s go to the seminar hall.” The bulletin, however, points out that the miscreants could go only as far as the second floor which is one floor below the place of occurrence of the crime, the chest department seminar hall. Journalist Sandip Sarkar’s reporting on ABP Ananda corroborates the reporting by Tamal Saha. The ABP Ananda footage shows the second floor wooden door broken.
The kicker in Bengali on the above screenshot from the ABP Ananda footage says: “Seminar Hall on third floor, miscreants went up to second floor”.
Alt News is in possession of a photo taken at 11.52 pm on August 16, 2024. This image shows the seminar room locked, sealed and intact from outside. Five policemen can be seen guarding it. We accessed the photo through police sources and we are not permitted to publish it.
Alt News also spoke to a faculty member from the same department at R G Kar Hospital. They confirmed to us that the vandalism on the intervening night of August 14-15 did not cause any damage to the chest department seminar hall (that crime scene).
To sum up, the viral claim that the seminar hall of the chest department of R G Kar hospital in Kolkata, where the body of the slain doctor was found, was destroyed/burnt down in the vandalism on the intervening night of August 14 and 15 is false.
“..We always remained silent; whatever the students did, they did well. We had nothing to say. We stayed quiet… everything they did was fine. But today, why should we be the scapegoats amidst all this? What is our fault? Is it that we are Hindus? Today, when this situation arose in the country, they came from another direction with a procession and entered my house. My father’s business is here… my brother is a doctor, and his chamber is also within our house. They entered the chamber, destroyed everything, and left nothing behind. They were looking for my uncle, and they were looking for my brother. My mother helplessly looked on as they destroyed every little thing in the house… They beat up my father…”
This is an excerpt from a distressing livestream by a Bangladeshi Hindu woman who narrates how she was forced to leave the country after her family was attacked because of their religious identity. She mentions that her father’s house is in Mathbaria, located in the Barishal district of Bangladesh, and emphasizes that her family had never encountered any issues with anyone before the attack.
The woman in the above video is certainly not alone. Many Hindu families in Bangladesh had to face similar hate crimes after erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who led the country for 15 years, had resigned from her position and left the country on August 5, minutes before protesters stormed her official residence. Following Hasina’s resignation, reports quickly emerged of retaliatory attacks targeting her party, the Awami League, and those perceived as her allies, including the Hindu minority.
Hindus, who make up about 7.96% of the country’s population, were subjected to systematic and continuous attacks. The internet is rife with videos and images of rioters setting fire to Hindu homes and temples. Hashtags like #SaveBangladeshiHindus and #AllEyesOnBangladeshiHindus quickly began trending on social media platforms. The situation was made worse by the lack of a functioning government and law enforcement.
Sworn in as the head of the interim government in Bangladesh on August 8, one of Mohammad Yunus’ first declarations was to assert the necessity to stop these attacks at the earliest. “Restoring law and order is our first task. We can not proceed without that… You have put your trust in me to lead your country… I have responded to the invitation of the student leaders… My plea to my fellow countrymen.. if you have faith in me, the first step is to ensure that no one is attacked anywhere in the country… Without this, my efforts are futile, and it would be better if I stepped aside,” he said in a video statement on August 9, flanked by student leaders.
On the same day, the Bangladesh Hindu, Buddist and Christian Unity Council, along with the Bangladesh Puja Ujjapon Parishad, released an extensive list of 205 incidents of attacks on Hindus in over 50 districts since the fall of the Hasina government on August 5. The 10-page document details attacks on political leaders, temples, Hindu-owned business establishments and civilians. It also notes that Prodip Kumar Bhowmik from Rayganj sub-district in Sirajganj, Haradhon Roy, an Awami League politician, and two other Hindus from Rangpur City Corporation, as well as Santosh Kumar, a police inspector from Baniachong police station, were killed during the unrest.
Several reports have mentioned a general panic among Hindu citizens in Bangladesh. Hindus, the largest religious minority group in the country, “are shivering,” Kajal Debnath, vice president of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council told the Associated Press on August 13. “They are closing their doors, they are not opening it without confirming who is knocking. Everybody (in the Hindu minority)… from the Dhaka capital to the remote villages are very scared.”
Here are a few incidents of attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh that Alt News could verify from local reports and social media evidences. This is in no way an exhaustive list.
Lalmonirhat
Lalmonirhat, a district in north Bangladesh bordering West Bengal, is part of the Rangpur division. According to the 2011 census, approximately 14% of its population is Hindu. Social media users have reported numerous hate crimes against Hindus in the area.
One such incident involved Jeevan Roy, the general secretary of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad, Lalmonirhat Sadar Upazila Branch. His home was vandalised and looted, with his belongings destroyed. He was allegedly threatened at gunpoint and given three days to leave Bangladesh.
#সাবাস_বাংলাদেশ
বাংলাদেশ হিন্দু বৌদ্ধ খ্রিস্টান ঐক্য পরিষদ, লালমনিরহাট সদর উপজেলা শাখার সাধারণ সম্পাদক শ্রী জীবন রায়…
Another victim was Muhin Roy, a Hindu man who owns a computer shop named Design Vision in Lalmonirhat. According to his Facebook testimony, his shop was ransacked on August 5, the day Sheikh Hasina resigned. In a Facebook comment, he expressed his shame and disbelief, stating that he could never have imagined such a fate in Lalmonirhat.
অতি দুঃখের সাথে জানাচ্ছি, আপনাদের আবেগের, ভালোবাসার ‘ডিজাইন ভিশন’ ভাংচুর ও লুটপাট হয়েছে। সাময়িক সেবা বিঘ্নিত হওয়ায় দুঃখিত।
In the Hatibandha upazila of Lalmonirhat, 12 Hindu houses were reportedly vandalized and torched in Purbo Sardubi village. Visuals of the aftermath show the devastation, including a temple inside one of the houses that was completely burned. Other nearby houses were also reduced to ashes. In the video, the person recording can be heard saying, ‘This is the condition of Bangladesh. Hindu households…’
#সাবাস_বাংলাদেশ
লালমনিরহাট জেলার হাতীবান্ধা থানার ফকির পাড়ার বুড়াসারডুবি গ্রামের স্বপন রায় এর বাড়িসহ অন্যান্য হিন্দু বাড়ি হামলা ও লুটপাট।
In the same district, a mob also vandalised the house of Pradip Chandra Roy, the secretary of Lalmonirhat Puja Udjapan Parishad, in Telipara village reports Daily Star. The incident also took place on August 5.
Bagerhat
In a chilling case of hate crime in the Bagerhat region of Khula division in southwestern Bangladesh, a Hindu schoolteacher named Mrinal Kanti Chatterjee was killed by a mob. 83.25% of Bagerhat’s population consists of Muslims while Hindus constitute 16.38%, according to the 2022 census.
His son-in-law stated in a video that there had been a land dispute with neighbours who were inclined towards the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. ‘My father-in-law was an innocent man, he was a teacher. He had good relations with everyone. But for the past two years, the other party has been threatening him, saying that they’ll kill him. On the day Hasina resigned, since 4-5 pm, the environment was quite charged. At that time, some people came into the house at around 8 pm and threatened to kill him, saying you won’t be able to escape to India… My father-in-law did not pay much attention. We didn’t know that they would come at 12 am. Some 10-12 people surrounded the house at that time and started breaking the windows. All of them were very young, around 16-17 years of age… My father-in-law has two daughters—one of them is a student in Dhaka. She was also part of the Quota movement. She came back when the university was closed down. On the day of the attack, my sister-in-law, my wife, my six-year-old child, my mother-in-law, and my father-in-law were at home. Around 12 am, they broke down the doors of the house, entered, and hit my father-in-law on the head with a hammer. They kept on hit him… on the back. Two people entered the house, two were guarding the house. There were more people surrounding the house. And around 50-60 people were celebrating on the main road outside. Nobody came to save him. He died on the spot… Then they looted the house, took all our money and gold. They broke everything, even the commode in the toilet. Their aim was to destroy everything in the house so that we would leave the land. My mother-in-law was also injured while trying to save her husband and had to undergo 34 stitches… She’s not supposed to be alive…’
In a statement to Bangladeshi media outlet Independent Television, Chatterjee’s daughter Jhuma Rani recounted the horror. ‘I had my younger son and sister at home. I saved them by hiding them on the floor and under the bed. What is wrong with us? We are not a party. Why did they attack only us? They beat my old father to death with a hammer’, she said.
Thakurgaon, Panchagarh
In Panchagarh, the northernmost district of Bangladesh in Rangpur division, several Hindu homes were reportedly torched and vandalized after August 5. The population in Panchagarh consists of 16.55% Hindus and 83.09% Muslims.
In a Facebook livestream dated August 11, a huge fire is visible in the foreground, and the person recording can be heard saying that the incident occurred in Baroipur village at the house of a man named Jairam. He also says that no one was hurt in the incident according to information available at the time.
In another Facebook livestream from Panchagarh, a man is seen being apprehended by a large crowd. The stream was recorded in Lakshmi Para, next to Baroipara, just 40 minutes after the aforementioned livestream. The man was accused of being one of the individuals who set fire to a house in Baroipara. The person conducting the livestream is heard questioning whether this was truly an independent Bangladesh. He also speaks about the targeted attacks on minorities. “দেখুন সংখ্যালঘুদের ওপর কিভাবে হামলা হচ্ছে” (Translation: See how the minorities are being attacked in Bangladesh), the man is heard shouting in the video.
ময়দানদিঘী ইউনিয়ন বোদা থানা জেলা পঞ্চগড়
গ্রাম লক্ষ্মী পাড়া এই ঘটনাটি ঘটে
একজন ধরা পড়ছে জিজ্ঞাসাবাদে উনি বলে উনার বাসা দিনাজপুরে
In the Thakurgaon district, also part of the Rangpur division, Hindu homes were torched and vandalised. Thakurgaon is a district in northwestern Bangladesh and borders India to the west. Muslims make up 76.70% of the population while Hindus are 22.26%, according to the 2011 census.
In a Facebook livestream, it was mentioned that miscreants had set fire to the temple neighbourhood in Farabari, Thakurgaon. The livestream showed several people attempting to put out the fire.
ঠাকুরগাঁও ফাড়াবাড়ী মন্দির পাড়ায় দুর্বৃত্তরা আগুন দিয়েছে
আজ সন্ধ্যা:- ৭ টা ৩০ মিনিটে।
১৩ আগস্ট ২০২৪
More recently, a house of a Hindu man named Mohen Chandra was set on fire in the main sub-district of Thakurgaon. During the incident, a young man was apprehended by the locals and handed over to the police. The man, Samiul, aged 20, reportedly hailed from the Darajgaon sub-district.
Jashore
In Manirampur, a Hindu man’s house was attacked and looted, and his son was abducted due to a financial dispute. Manirampur is an Upazila in the Jashore district in Khulna division in southwestern Bangladesh. The district consists of 89.61% Muslims and 10.19% Hindus, according to the 2022 census.
The incident reportedly occurred at Palash Ghosh’s house in Ghoshpara. The attack was led by a Madrasa teacher named Abul Hasan who owed Ghosh 5 lakh Taka. Hasan demanded a ransom of 10 Lakh, looted the house, and took Palash’s son, Piyas Ghosh, as well as a motorcycle. The son was rescued after four hours through the intervention of a local BNP leader. The police were unaware of the incident.
In a video testimony, Palash’s wife can be seen in tears. “They came to our house and looted us. They took our motorcycle, money and even cows. They also abducted my 14-year-old son.” She names Abul Hasan as one f the perpetrators and claims she didn’t know the others. Palash is then heard saying that the mob beat him up and made him sign a blank stamp.
এই স্বাধীন দেশ আমরা চাইনি ছাত্র-জনতা।
জালালপুর ঘোষপাড়া-মনিরামপুর-যশোর।
ধিক্কার জানাই।।
A Hindu family’s home in Khalishakhali village, the main sub-district of Patuakhali, was attacked and looted on the evening of August 7. Patuakhali is a town and district headquarters of Patuakhali district located on the southern bank of Laukathi River in the division of Barisal in Bangladesh. Patuakhali consists of 86.08% Muslims and 13.82% Hindus.
The incident occurred around 8:30 pm at the residence of Abhilash Talukdar, 36, and his wife Mukta Debnath. The attackers, 10 to 12 people armed with sticks and chapatis, were from the same area and known to the family.
The attack occurred after Abhilash’s father-in-law, Laxman Debnath, a former Union Parishad member, decided to stay with them as he had been feeling unsafe in his own home following political changes in the area. When Mukta opened the door, the group forced their way in, ransacking the house and looting gold jewellery and 30,000 rupees in cash. The attackers demanded more money, and the family paid an additional 50,000 rupees through Abhilash’s relatives to make them leave.
According to Abhilash’s wife’s testimony to ATN News, the mob also asked them to leave the area and not disclose details about the incident to anybody else or they would be killed. They also threatened her with physical violence for raising her voice during the incident. She named one of the accused, Riyaz Molla, in the interview.
In response to this, at a press conference held at the Patuakhali Press Club, district BNP general secretary Snehangshu Sarkar Kutri condemned the attack on the family and demanded strict action for those involved.
Meherpur
Since, August 5, several attacks have been targeted at minorities in Meherpur. Meherpur is the northwestern district of Khulna Division in southwestern Bangladesh. It is bordered by West Bengal to the west, and by the Bangladeshi districts of Kushtia and Chuadanga to the east. Meherpur consists of 97.87% Muslims and 1.20% Hindus according to the 2022 census.
According to a Prothom Alo report, by August 6, nine Hindu homes had been attacked, including one belonging to an Awami League member.
On August 6, Sumohand Mukund Das from ISKCON spoke to Times Now about the vandalism of an ISKCON temple in Meherpur. He revealed that the incident involved not just arson but also bomb detonations by the vandals. Das shared visuals of the temple’s burnt remnants, expressing his fear and helplessness, and highlighted that such incidents are common in Bangladesh, with no justice for the Hindu community. He pleaded for global support, mentioning that there is still no security provided, that he remains in hiding, and cannot go out in public wearing saffron clothing. He also noted that despite repeatedly calling the fire services, no help arrived.
Below are some more visuals after the temple was vandalised. (Pictures from Facebook)
On Tuesday, August 6, it was reportedly discovered that the house of Pallab Bhattacharya, a resident of Hotel Bazar in Meherpur and the district Awami League legal affairs secretary, had been set on fire the previous day. The ground floor of his two-storey house was completely destroyed. At the time of the attack, Bhattacharya was in Japan visiting his daughter and newborn grandson, leaving the house unoccupied. According to witnesses, around 5 pm on August 5, a group of youths attacked Bhattacharya’s house with sticks, rods, and iron pipes. They broke the entrance gate, looted the house, and then set fire to the furniture.
Simultaneously, the attackers targeted another individual named Chitta Saha’s business, looting goods. In another incident, Leena Bhattacharya’s house on Rabindranath Road was also targeted, where four people were beaten up, valuables were stolen, and the house was set on fire. Additionally, six houses in Malopara were vandalized, and family members were beaten up.
Faridpur
A 75-year-old man was brutally beaten up in Naopara village of Bhanga Upazila of Faridpur. Faridpur District is a district in south-central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. Faridpur consists of 91.49% Muslims and 8.44% Hindus according to the 2022 census.
Amarendra Kumar Ghosh Palan, who was admitted to the Bhanga Upazila Health Complex, stated that he was attacked by six or seven individuals, including his neighbours Babul Miah, Minhaj Miah, and Hasan Miah, due to previous enmity. He sustained injuries to his hands, legs, and other body parts during the assault. The attackers taunted him, questioning whether he could seek police help.
In response to the incident, members of the local minority community have called for immediate punishment for those responsible. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has expressed strong disapproval and condemnation of the communal violence occurring during the regime change.
Picture from The Business Standard report
“Attacks more Politically Motivated, than Communal”
Speaking to AP, Nahid Islam, one of the student leaders at the forefront of the protests who is now a minister in the interim government, said the violence was more politically motivated than religious.
It is important to note that historically, the Awami League has been seen as pro-Hindu and pro-India.
Alt News also spoke to a Hindu student from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in Dhaka. He told us that most of the attacks on the Hindus occurred between August 5 and 6. Some of the attacks were due to political reasons, but the others were aimed at civilians — their shops were attacked and houses burnt down. They also looted cattle and goats. In one case, they stole 58 cows. My grandfather had a sweet shop in Pabna, that was also attacked.”
“We got news that there were at least 10 attacks on August 6 itself in the Rangpur division. Even in Panchagarh, many such attacks have taken place. Means of livelihood for many Hindus have been lost. Things have become slightly better of late. But there is still a sense of fear among the Hindus. There were so many attacks in Rangpur that they had to prepare for self-defence. Attackers were caught and handed over to the army. The pressing question on the minds of Hindus now is: How many more nights must we stay awake to protect ourselves?,” he added.
The attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh sparked a flurry of misinformation on the social media space in India. Alt News debunked three videos in which attacks on youth leaders of Awami League in educational institutions were passed off as targeted assault on Hindus. Besides, unrelated and old videos, cases of accidental fire were also peddled as attacks on Hindus.
Bangladesh was plunged into an unprecedented crisis on August 5 with the ouster of erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following months of violent student protest. Looting and attacks were reported on leaders associated with the Awami League, the party of Hasina, as well as on their homes, shops, and businesses. Additionally, there have been numerous reports of attacks on the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh. At the same time, various old and unrelated photos and videos have gone viral on social media in India as attacks on Hindus in the neighboring country. These have been debunked by Alt News. Several Right-wing social media users have been using these false claims to target the minority Muslim community in India.
Politicians have also played an active role in exacerbating the situation. For example, BJP MLA Nitesh Rane posted a tweet on August 5, asking if Hindus were being attacked in Bangladesh, why should Indians spare a single Bangladeshi in their country. He added that they would hunt down and kill every Bangladeshi living in India. Rane deleted the tweet after it had sparked a controversy. However, this is not the first time that he has made such an inflammatory statement. In January of this year, during the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha procession in Mira Road, Mumbai, when communal tensions broke out, Nitesh Rane made a similar incendiary statement, threatening to hunt down individuals.
The impact of inflammatory social media posts and fake news has been significant, leading to targeted attacks on the minority Muslim community in India. Criminals, motivated by a desire to avenge the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, have been attacking people living in slums in various parts of the country, branding them as Bangladeshis. Several Hindu organisations have been directly involved in these attacks, and the accused are closely associated with the ruling BJP. In many places, Bengali-speaking workers from West Bengal and other residents of slums have been harassed and attacked under the suspicion of being Bangladeshis.
Shastri Park, New Delhi
On August 8, a group of Hindu extremists attacked garbage collectors in the darkness of night, accusing them of being Bangladeshis, and beat them up with sticks and rods. In a video that went viral, the attackers could be heard saying that these snakes were thriving here while their Hindu sisters and daughters were being raped in Bangladesh. Cow-vigilante and Hindu Raksha Dal member Daksh Chaudhary could be clearly identified in this video. He posted this video on his social media account with the caption, “We will not allow them to stay in this country anymore; if the government cannot remove them, we will.”
After attacking people living in slums branding them as Bangladeshis, Chaudhary released another video stating that he had no regrets over his actions. He made an open call, stating that they had started the process and that the youth and various organizations of India knew what needed to be done. He declared that no Bangladeshi Rohingya Muslims would remain in this country and though the government may be powerless, they were not.
Taking cognisance of the video of the attack on garbage collectors by Daksh Chaudhary and his associates, Delhi Police registered a case in the matter. However, no arrests had been made so far. It is worth noting that Chaudhary has several cases registered against him in different police stations. In February year, he entered a mosque in Sahibabad wearing shoes and pushed the Muslims present there, warning them against praying there. He also threatened to kill them if they tried to go to the mosque’s roof. He was later arrested by the police for hurting religious sentiments and disturbing the peace. During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Chaudhary and his associates had attacked Congress candidate Kanhaiya Kumar and abused voters in Ayodhya (Faizabad) when the BJP lost the election there.
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
On August 7, Pinky Chaudhary, the president of the Hindu Raksha Dal, released a video threatening that if Hindus were being persecuted in Bangladesh, Bangladeshis would be treated the same way in India. They would be killed and driven out. In another video, Pinky Chaudhary gave a 24-hour ultimatum. He stated that the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh had to stop and that areas in which Bangladeshis were living in India were on the radar of the Hindu Raksha Dal.
On August 9, Pinky Chaudhary and his supporters attacked people living in shanties, branded them as Bangladeshis, and vandalised and set fire to the slums. Several Right-wing users shared the video of this incident in solidarity with the attackers, claiming that the people living there were Bangladeshis. Ashok Srivastava, editor of India’s state-run news channel Doordarshan, also defended Pinky Chaudhary on Twitter, stating that Hindus in India were distressed and angry, and it was possible that Pinky Chaudhary was unable to control his emotions.
उत्तर प्रदेश : गाजियाबाद में हिंदू रक्षा दल ने कुछ झुग्गी झोपड़ी तोड़ दीं। सामान में आग लगा दी। यहां रहने वाले लोगों को बांग्लादेशी बताकर खदेड़ दिया। pic.twitter.com/WxyqWw50xD
After the video had gone viral, Ghaziabad Police took cognisance of the matter and registered an FIR against Pinky Chaudhary and his supporters and subsequently arrested him. In a statement to the media, police clarified that based on the facts that emerged during the investigation, the people who were beaten up for being Bangladeshis were actually Indian citizens from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
UP : गाजियाबाद पुलिस ने मुस्लिमों को बांग्लादेशी बताकर पीटने में हिंदू रक्षा दल के अध्यक्ष पिंकी चौधरी सहित 15–20 समर्थकों पर FIR दर्ज की।
दिनांक 09.08.2024 को गाजियाबाद के थाना मधुबन बापू धाम क्षेत्रांतर्गत मजदूरों की झोपड़ी को क्षतिग्रस्त करने एवं उनके साथ मारपीट की घटना के मुख्य आरोपी हिस्ट्रीशीटर पिंकी भैया उर्फ भूपेन्द्र तोमर को #ghaziabadpolice द्वारा गिरफ्तार कर आवश्यक विधिक कार्यवाही की जा रही है।@Uppolicepic.twitter.com/6YriJgCx14
— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE GHAZIABAD (@ghaziabadpolice) August 11, 2024
Eyewitnesses to the incident reported that people were asked about their religion before being attacked. A child present at the scene said that Pinky Chaudhary and his supporters asked whether they were Muslim or Hindu. As soon as someone identified as Muslim, they started beating them up.
गाजियाबाद में बांग्लादेशी बताकर झुग्गी-झोपड़ियां तोड़ीं : ” जैसे ही बताया की मुस्लिम हैं, तो उसने मारना शुरू कर दिया ” pic.twitter.com/KS1C1Ksmw7
On August 10, Pinky Chaudhary released another video claiming that they had done what they had claimed and called on all Hindus to kill Bangladeshis and drive them out of India.
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Satyam Pandit, associated with the Hindu Veer Sena, issued a warning to Rohingyas and Bangladeshis to leave the country within 24 to 72 hours. He threatened that if they did not comply, every worker of the Hindu Veer Sena would cut their beards, pull out their hair, and bury them in Bangladesh.
“रोहिंग्या, कटुए, बांग्लादेशी अगले 24 घंटे में भारत को छोड़ दें। अन्यथा राष्ट्रीय हिंदू वीर सेना इनकी दाढ़ी उखाड़कर एक–एक बाल को बांग्लादेश में गाढ़ देगा”
ऐसा कहने वाले सत्यम पंडित पर UP की गाजियाबाद पुलिस ने FIR दर्ज की। सत्यम की तलाश जारी है !! pic.twitter.com/W4QtFxJ40q
The Uttar Pradesh Police took cognisance of the matter and registered an FIR against Satyam Pandit, arresting him on August 12.
उत्तर प्रदेश : गाजियाबाद पुलिस ने राष्ट्रीय हिन्दू वीर सेना के अध्यक्ष सत्यम पंडित को गिरफ्तार किया। कोर्ट ने जेल भेजा।
सत्यम पंडित ने कहा था- ”रोहिंग्या, कटुए, बांग्लादेशी 24 घंटे में भारत छोड़ दें। अन्यथा इनकी दाढ़ी उखाड़कर एक-एक बाल बांग्लादेश में गाढ़ दिया जाएगा” https://t.co/wmjTAQ3UPupic.twitter.com/EJ78AzlvRS
According to a report published on The Times of India’s website, several videos had surfaced on social media showing attacks on Bengali-speaking workers from West Bengal in the districts of Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, and Sambalpur of Odisha, in which they were branded as Bangladeshis. Local people demanded proof of their Indian citizenship. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee contacted her Odisha counterpart Mohan Charan Manjhi, urging him to intervene following reports of the attacks on Bengali-speaking workers.
According to a report by The Indian Express, several workers of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of Odisha’s ruling party BJP, surrounded 34 individuals at a construction site in Sambalpur district on suspicion that they were Bangladeshi nationals and handed them over to the police. After investigation, police officials stated that they were not from Bangladesh, but from the Murshidabad area of West Bengal, after which they were released.
Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh
On August 11, a Hindu organisation held a rally against the atrocities committed against Hindus in Bangladesh. In the video of this rally, one can clearly hear calls for taking up arms to protect Hindus. The video also shows intense sloganeering against Muslims, with offensive comments made against Islam.
After the video went viral, the local Muslim community lodged a complaint with the police, following which the person seen in the video, Devraj, apologised to the Muslim community in a video, stating that the words were not directed at Indian Muslims. However, there is currently no update on the police’s response in this case.
This story uses screenshots and not actual tweets in view of the graphic nature of the video being fact-checked.
The political unrest that erupted in Bangladesh following the student protests over reservation descended into a disturbing path marked by escalating violence. In the wake of this turmoil, Sheikh Hasina was compelled to step down from her position as Prime Minister and flee the country on August 5. This was followed by several incidents of attacks on the minority Hindu community. Against this backdrop, numerous videos and images related to the violence began circulating widely on Indian social media platforms.
One such video shows a girl being beaten up and harassed by a mob. The clip has been widely shared with the claim that the girl is a Hindu and that she was being targeted and harassed by individuals from the Muslim community. The footage reveals women dressed in burqas and men wearing caps that are commonly associated with the Muslim community.
Ashwini Shrivastava, a Right-wing social media user, tweeted the video with similar claims. At the time this article being written, the video has received more than 9 Lakh views. (Archived link)
Lawyer and BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay also tweeted this video and wrote that the biggest enemies of Hindus were converted Hindus. (Archived link)
Many more X users have posted this video with the same claim.
Alt News observed that Shohanur Rahman, a fact-checker from Bangladesh-based outlet ‘Rumor Scanner’, had replied to Ashwini Srivastava’s tweet. Commenting on the alleged incident, he clarified that the woman seen in the video was not a Hindu as claimed, but a member of the Muslim community. Alt News, respecting the sensitivity of the situation, has chosen not to disclose the name of the victim in this report. The incident in question occurred on August 7 in the Tanker Par area of the Brahmanbaria district. The woman is reportedly a worker of the Mahila Chhatra League, a student wing of Sheikh Hasina’s political party, the Awami League. It appears that her association with this organisation was the reason she was targeted by the mob.
Based on this information, we performed a keyword search in Bengali on Facebook, which led us to a 6:48 second long related video. In one of the frames from this footage, we identified the words ‘Loknath Tank, B Baria’ inscribed on a wall. The caption of this Facebook post also corroborated this location, mentioning ‘Brahmanbaria Tank’ and ‘Chhatra League leader.’
It is important for readers to note that in both this longer Facebook video and the shorter viral video, a girl dressed in a black salwar suit with a red dupatta can be seen standing beside the victim. This individual appears prominently in both videos.
While investigating, Alt News found two Facebook videos of this incident. (Link 1, Link 2) After carefully analysing both videos, we observed a pink purse that was present in both. In the first video, the victim is seen clutching this pink purse. In the second video, the girl wearing the black suit and red dupatta is shown retrieving documents and other items from this pink purse.
In this second Facebook video, the girl wearing the black suit takes out the victim’s ID card and shows it to the camera, which is from the Upazila Parishad elections. After seeing this ID card, it becomes clear that the victim girl is a Muslim. Below is a Google-translated version of the ID card which is in Bengali.
To sum it up, a woman seen being harassed by a mob in this viral video is actually not a Hindu, but a Muslim. She was attacked due to her association with the Awami League.
Alt News debunked two similar false claims in the recent past where attacks on student leaders of Awami League in educational institutions were passed as targeted attack on Hindus. (1, 2)
By Matilda Yates, Queensland University of Technology
“From a white perspective it is journalism but for us, it is actually storytelling,” says Fiji student journalist Viliame Tawanakoro.
“In the Pacific, we call it talanoa, it hasn’t changed the gist of journalism, but it has actually helped journalism as a whole because we have a way of disseminating information.”
Fijians use storytelling or talanoa to communicate “information or a message from one village to another”, explains Tawanakoro, and that storytelling practices guides how he writes journalistic stories.
“Storytelling is about having a conversation, so you can have an understanding of what you are trying to pursue,” Tawanakoro says.
David Robie’s research, conducted while he was Auckland University of Technology’s Pacific Media Centre director and published in his book Don’t Spoil My Beautiful Face: Media, Mayhem and Human Rights in the Pacific, highlights the power of talanoa as a tool for effective reporting of the Pacific region with “context and nuance”.
However, Dr Robie notes the “dilemmas of cross-cultural reporting” in Fiji.
Fijian journalists face a cultural and potentially even a moral conflict, according to Fiji journalist Seona Smiles in the foreward to The Pacific Journalist: A Practical Guide.
‘Deep-rooted beliefs’
“Deep-rooted beliefs in South Pacific societies about respect for authority could translate into a lack of accountability and transparency on behalf of the powerful,” Smiles notes.
Fiji student journalist Brittany Nawaqatabu echoes this internal conflict as a young journalist who was “brought up not to ask too many questions” — especially to elder iTaukei.
“It’s always that battle between culture and having to get your job done and having to manoeuvre the situation and knowing when to put yourself out there and when to know where culture comes in,” Nawaqatabu says.
Managers and leaders in Fiji news media need deep awareness of cultural norms and protocols.
Editor of Islands Business Samantha Magick expresses the importance of hiring a diverse staff so that the correct journalist can be sent to cover what may be a culturally sensitive story.
“I unwittingly assigned someone to cover a traditional ceremony and I didn’t realise that their status within that community actually made it very difficult for them to do that,” she says.
In exploring journalism in the Pacific, Dick Rooney and his Divine Word University colleagues found that a Western understanding of journalism cannot be transplanted “into a society which has very different societal needs”.
‘More complexity’
Practising journalism in Fiji is like practising journalism in a small town “but with a lot more complexity”, Magick says.
She finds “the degree of separation isn’t six it’s like two”, meaning that it is a vital consideration of editors to ensure no conflict exists with the journalists and the community they are being sent to.
It is “incumbent on an editor to understand” the cultural norms and expectations that may be imposed on a journalist on an assignment and to ensure they have a “diverse newsroom of all ethnicities, not just the iTaukei but also the Indo-Fijian,” Magick says.
Nawaqatabu expands on one Fijian cultural norm in which “women are expected to not speak”.
As the Fijian news media and society modernise, and more diverse information becomes available, Fijian women in particular have found a voice through journalism.
“Pursuing journalism gives us that voice to cover stories that mean a lot to us, and the country as a whole, to communicate that voice that we didn’t initially have in the previous generation,” Nawaqatabu says.
Tawanakoro concurs with this sentiment. “Women have found a voice and are more vocal about what they want,” he says.
The intersection of tradition, culture and journalism in Fiji will continue, but Tawanakoro says journalists can operate effectively if they understand culture and protocols.
“As a journalist, you have to acknowledge there is a tradition, there is a culture if you respect the culture, the tradition, the vanua (earth, region, spot, place-to-be or come from) they will respect you.”
Matilda Yates is a student journalist from the Queensland University of Technology who travelled to Fiji with the support of the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan Mobility Programme. This article is republished by Asia Pacific Report in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN), QUT and The University of the South Pacific.
Jitendra pratap singh
(@catstits) 
Here BJP guys are protesting in West Bengal against RG Kar case. Background banners say “we want justice”. Protest hindutvavadi style 
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