Nagpur violence: Muslim leaders seek impartial probe, urge CM to meet representatives
 (2)_vb_53.jpeg)
Nagpur (PTI): Members of the Muslim community in Nagpur have condemned the violence in Vidarbha’s largest city earlier this week and sought an impartial probe into it, claiming that timely action by police could have prevented it.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, they said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should meet representatives of both communities in a bid to establish peace.
Large-scale stone pelting and arson were reported in several parts of Nagpur on Monday evening after rumours began circulating about a ‘chadar' with holy inscriptions being burnt during protests led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) seeking the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb.
“Efforts are being made to provoke the Muslim community through various means in the last two to three years. A minister has been continuously raising the topic of Aurangzeb. The Muslim community has no connection to Aurangzeb and has remained calm,” Dr Mohammad Awes Hasan said at the press conference.
He alleged that right-wing outfits burnt a ‘chadar’ with Islamic verses on it which prompted members of the Muslim community to approach the police demanding action against them. However, when police did not take any step, some of them became agitated, he said.
A few of those who spoke at the press conference appreciated the efforts made by the police to restore normalcy but alleged that some innocent persons had been arrested as part of the probe into the violence.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra State Minorities Commission chief Pyare Khan held a meeting on Thursday, which was attended by the police commissioner and district collector, among others.
No action should be taken against innocent persons, he urged police.
He also asked the administration to relax curfew in Mominpura and nearby localities as Ramzan is underway and business was being affected.
Thirty-three police personnel, including three DCP rank officers, were injured in Monday's violence.
Police have booked Fahim Khan, the key accused in the violence, and five others on charges of sedition and spreading misinformation on social media, as per police. Curfew was lifted or relaxed in parts of the city three days after the violence.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Gurugram Police arrest BJP Yuva Morcha member for spreading fake murder story on social media
New Delhi: Gurugram Police have arrested BJP Yuva Morcha member Hariom Mishra, for allegedly spreading a fabricated and communally sensitive story on social media about the murder of a college student in Gurugram.
Mishra who is also known as Shaurya Mishra had shared a collage of four photographs on his X handle earlier this month. He claimed that a 24-year-old college student, identified as Nikita Agarwal, had been murdered by her classmate Arif Khan in Gurugram. In the post, he alleged that the woman was blackmailed, forced into prostitution, gangraped, and eventually killed. He also claimed that Arif dumped her body in a forest. The claims were presented as being based on police sources.
The post went viral and garnering over 1.5 lakh views, and was amplified by several right-wing social media handles across X, Facebook and Instagram. A verification of the claims revealed that no such incident had taken place in Gurugram. A search of credible news reports showed no record of any such murder. The police said this news would have inevitably attracted media attention if it were true.
On December 11, Gurugram Police publicly refuted the claims through their official X handle. They stated that the information which was being circulated was completely false. The police warned that legal action would be taken against those spreading misinformation. Despite the warning, Mishra neither deleted the post nor issued any clarification.
Police in Gurugram confirmed Mishra's arrest on December 16. The police said a FIR was filed after he continued to spread false information about the alleged murder of a Hindu woman by Muslim man. Police said Mishra, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi district, is now being investigated.
Gurugram Police spokesperson Sandeep Singh told The Print that the accused had deliberately misrepresented facts and used objectionable content to spread hatred along religious lines. “Such posts can create serious disturbances in society, and the police take these matters very seriously,” he said.
A reverse image search conducted by fact-checkers at Alt News, revealed that the photographs used in the viral post were unrelated to the claims, while two of the images were traced to a Pinterest account belonging to influencer Maulik Chopra and another image was sourced from an Instagram post by influencer Shivam Thakur featuring a woman named Deepanshi Rawat. The fourth image was found on an unrelated Instagram page. The images depicted different individuals and had no connection to any crime.
Police said they are also investigating Mishra’s motive behind sharing the false and provocative content.
