Viral Video: False testimony by journalist that Umar Khalid was not attacked
In the afternoon of August 13, reports emerged from New Delhi that JNU student leader Umar Khalid was shot at by an unknown assailant. According to these reports, the incident took place outside the Constitution Club of India. Khalid escaped unhurt while the assailant fled the spot after discarding the weapon.
Social media was quick to react over this development. A video soon began to circulate widely in which a journalist with Dainik Bhaskar, Santosh Kumar claimed that while there was indeed an incident of firing outside the Constitution Club, Umar Khalid was not present at the spot when the incident took place.
पत्रकार @santoshji रफी मार्ग पर गोलीकांड के चश्मदीद हैं,चाय की दुकान पर अचानक दो लड़कों के बीच झगड़ा हुआ,एक लड़की ने बीच-बचाव की कोशिश की,तभी एक लड़के ने पिस्तौल निकालकर फायर किया लेकिन गोली नहीं चली,बाद में हमलावर हवाई फायर कर फरार हो गया।टब तक उमर खालिद मौके पर नहीं था। pic.twitter.com/2Hz7t143LB
— Vikas Bhadauria ABP (@vikasbha) August 13, 2018
Santosh Kumar claimed that he was witness to a scuffle which had broken out between two persons near a tea kiosk close to the gate of the Constitution Club. The attacker had a gun in his hand and he pushed the other person on to the ground and was about to shoot at him, but was resisted by other persons due to which he fled from the spot after firing a shot in the air at some distance. Kumar also claimed that Umar Khalid was not present at the spot when this scuffle took place, and in fact emerged from the Constitution Club building later.
This video was posted by Vikas Bhadauria, who is a journalist with ABP News. Within no time, Bhadauria’s tweet was retweeted over 1600 times and prominent right-wing social media users began to assert on the basis of this ‘eye-witness account’ that Khalid had staged the attack. Founder of Postcard News Mahesh Vikram Hegde also shared Santosh Kumar’s video, and so did those who are followed on Twitter by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Umar Khalid hum sharminda Hain..
— Mahesh Vikram Hegde (@mvmeet) August 13, 2018
EPIC Guys don't miss this expose by the eye-witness....
He is also journalist pic.twitter.com/f519iSDVwm
There was no attack on Umar Khalid, neither he was at the spot,He came outside later. It was just scuffle between two other people & air fire. Story cooked for sympathy & to target PM.
— Prashant Patel Umrao (@ippatel) August 13, 2018
The claim that Khalid was not around at the place of the incident has quickly made its way on to Facebook as well.
Flip flop by Santosh Kumar
Santosh Kumar, the journalist who was present at the spot and whose on-camera testimony was popularised by right-wing social media users to claim that Khalid had indulged in drama, later altered his version of events and claimed that he wasn't sure whether the person who had been targeted by the assailant was Umar Khalid or not.
लड़कों के झगड़े में मैं नहीं देख पाया कि वो लड़का जिस पर बंदूक़ तानी गइ वो कौन था. क्योंकि वो लड़का नीचे कीचड़ में गिरने के बाद क्लब की ओर तेजी से गया था. बाद में बंदूक़ वाला लडका बीच सड़क पर हवाई फ़ायरिंग करता हुआ भाग गया.जो लड़का नीचे गिरा था वो उमर था या नहीं, मुझे मालूम नहीं. https://t.co/MZd6ZgBV7J
— Santosh Kumar (@santoshji) August 13, 2018
It may be reiterated that Kumar had earlier said that Khalid was not present at the spot when the incident occurred. Alt News contacted Umar Khalid to ascertain his version of events as they transpired outside the Constitution Club. Khalid said, “The incident happened next to a tea stall outside the Constitution Club. When we started leaving, a guy came from behind, held my neck and overpowered me. I fell down in the mud. He took out a pistol and started aiming at me. My instinctive reaction was not to let him aim and hold his hand away. My friends also started resisting and pushed him aside. He then ran from the spot.” Alt News also found a video on Facebook of Umar Khalid speaking to reporters and describing the incident.
It may be noted that the entire sequence of events as depicted by Khalid matches the version proclaimed by Santosh Kumar but with one key difference- according to Khalid, the person who was attacked was him whereas Kumar had earlier claimed that Khalid was not present at the spot, and later expressed doubt over his own claim.
Alt News also spoke to Banjyotsna Lahiri who had accompanied Khalid to the Constitution Club and was present at the spot when the incident occurred. “We were all having tea outside the venue. As I was going, someone came and held Umar from the back. I thought it may be a friend, and he pinned him (Umar) down. I was standing to the left of Umar, he was holding the gun with his right hand which I did not see initially. I tried to push him, and he took two steps back and brandished a gun. When he stepped back, we saw the gun and then he started running. We took Umar to safety inside the gate of Constitution Club. After that, the three of us ran behind him (the attacker) but by that time he had gained some distance. We heard a shot being fired. He had escaped but we saw the gun lying on the street.”
Speaking to Alt News, Shariq Husain who was also present at the spot with Umar Khalid said,“We were having tea and when we were leaving, someone held Khalid by the throat and pinned him down. He had a gun which was pressed on Khalid’s stomach. I started kicking the assailant’s hand. He then started running away and I chased him for a distance. He turned around and shot at me. He then left the gun right there and fled the spot.”
All the three statements of those who were present at the site of the incident including Umar Khalid are consistent in their version of the sequence of events. The sequence of events also largely matches with what has been described by Santosh Kumar, whose version has been widely shared on social media. However, Kumar’s assertion that Umar Khalid was not present at the spot but came later contradicts the eyewitnesses’ claim that Khalid was indeed the target of attack. Later, Kumar had tweeted that he was not sure if the assaulted person was Umar Khalid or not.
While the police has clarified that it is conducting an investigation into the incident, the issue of concern is the manner in which an aggressive, concerted campaign is already underway on social media to brush off the seriousness of the incident and to discredit the claim of Umar Khalid that he was attacked, on the basis of a dubious testimony by a reporter who has since altered his version.
Courtesy: www.altnews.in
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AAP questions BJP on continuing alliance with JD(S) after 'sex scandal'
New Delhi, Apr 29: AAP on Monday called the alleged sex scandal involving Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna of the JD(S) "worse than the Nithari serial murders" and questioned why the BJP did not sever ties with the southern party after the incident came to light.
Prajwal Revanna is the BJP-JD(S) alliance candidate from Hassan, which went to the polls on April 26.
The 33-year-old is the son of HD Revanna, former prime minister and JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda's eldest son.
HD Revanna is currently an MLA and a former minister.
Some explicit video clips allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna were circulated in Hassan in recent days.
A case of sexual harassment and stalking was registered on Sunday against HD Revanna and Prajwal Revanna on a complaint by their cook.
She alleged that four months after she started working for them, HD Revanna began to sexually harass her and Prajwal Revanna made video calls to her daughter and had "vulgar conversations" with her.
Former Delhi Commission for Women chief and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal appealed to the Election Commission to disqualify Prajwal Revanna and demanded that re-polling be conducted in the constituency.
"I am shocked how a man can be such a beast! He fled to Germany as soon as the elections were over! On whose behest did this man leave the country? I appeal to the Indian government that wherever this man is hiding in the world, he should be dragged to the country and strict action should be taken against him," she said in a statement.
"I also appeal to the Election Commission of India that this matter is so disgusting, it is such a big sex scandal that he should be disqualified from the elections and re-polling should be conducted on his seat," she said.
JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Monday said there is no question of defending his nephew over the allegations and the party will take "merciless action" if the special investigation team probe proves the charges.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh questioned how Prajwal Revanna was allowed to flee the country.
"This is worse than the Nithari scandal. A former prime minister's grandson is involved in the matter. This is an incident of harassment and exploitation of women and I am surprised that the prime minister is silent," he said.
Calling Revanna's actions "height of bestiality", he said it was an extremely "shameful incident".
"What action should be taken in the matter? How did he flee the country? The prime minister should speak on it. How is JD(S) still a part of the NDA (National Democratic Alliance)? You speak about 'Beti Bachao' and women's safety. Women have been subjected to inhuman behaviour. This is one of the biggest rape scandals in the country," he said.
The Karnataka government has constituted a special investigation team to probe into the alleged sexual abuse of hundreds of women by the MP.
Stating that such incidents cause embarrassment to society as a whole, Kumaraswamy said there is no question of defending anyone.
"Wrong is wrong, irrespective of who has committed it," he said.
