Viral video falsely portrays harassment of Muslim women in K’taka as "Love Jihad" incident
Bengaluru: A video circulating on social media, purportedly showing a burqa-clad woman attempting to coerce another woman into participating in "Love Jihad," has been debunked as misinformation. The video, widely shared by Right Wing accounts, including @ajaychauhan41, and others, is falsely portrayed as a case of religious conversion. Alt News has previously exposed the account @ajaychauhan41 for disseminating communal misinformation.
Upon investigation, it was revealed that the video dates back to November 2021 and originates from Karnataka's Kodagu district. The incident captured in the video involves two Muslim girls who were harassed by a group of men affiliated with Hindutva groups. The men accused the girls of engaging in "Love Jihad" by allegedly providing a burqa to a Christian classmate. The police investigation, however, revealed that the Christian girl had kept the burqa due to space constraints in her bag and was returning it to the Muslim girls.
According to a report by The News Minute published on November 23, 2021, the victims were threatened, slapped, and beaten by the mob, which consisted of over 30 people. The police arrested two individuals, Prajwal and Kaushik, in connection with the incident. The video captures the distressing moment when the girls were accosted by the mob, questioning them about the burqa and their backgrounds.
The victims' fathers had earlier clarified that the Muslim girls were waiting for their Christian friend to return the burqa in the evening. The Christian girl had kept the burqa for them in the morning as they had to remove it before entering their college classes. The misinformation circulating on social media falsely portrays the incident as an attempt at religious conversion when, in fact, both women shown in the video are Muslims.
This incident is part of a series of hate crimes reported in Kodagu, where individuals were targeted based on their religious identity.
The viral video from Karnataka's Kodagu district, falsely portraying an incident as an attempt at religious conversion through "Love Jihad," underscores the importance of fact-checking and responsible sharing on social media platforms. The misinformation, perpetuated by Right Wing accounts and others, has been debunked, revealing that the incident involved two Muslim girls facing harassment from a group with Hindutva affiliations.
जागो हिंदुओं
— हम लोग We The People 🇮🇳 (@ajaychauhan41) March 2, 2024
इस बुर्के वाली लड़की ने उस हिंदू लड़की का ब्रेन वॉश किया जो वीडियो फ्रेम में भी है
वह हिंदू लड़की को बुर्का पहनने और शांतिप्रिय लड़के (जो वीडियो में गलियारे में खडा दिखाई दे रहा है) के साथ जाने के लिए कहती हुई पकड़ी गई।
..लव जिहाद ये है... pic.twitter.com/1uanhZJUaZ
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Upset over Cong not fielding any Muslim in Maharashtra, senior leader Khan writes to Kharge
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Congress working president Naseem Khan on Friday expressed disappointment over the party or the opposition bloc MVA not fielding any Muslim candidate for the Lok Sabha polls in the state and told AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge he was pulling out of campaigning.
In a letter to Kharge, Khan said he will not campaign for party candidates for remaining phases of the Lok Sabha polls and is also resigning from the state Congress campaign committee.
The former state minister said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), of which the Congress is a key constituent, has not nominated a single Muslim candidate in Maharashtra, which has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh (80).
Many Muslim organisations, leaders and also party workers from all over Maharashtra were expecting the Congress to nominate at least one candidate from the minority community, but unfortunately this has not happened, he noted.
Now, they are asking "Congress ko Muslim vote chahiye, candidate kyun nahi (why Congress wants Muslim votes, but does not want to field any Muslim candidate)?" said the 60-year-old politician.
"I am also upset with this unfair decision of the Congress party. Before this, whenever the party gave me election responsibility in Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka, Telangana, West Bengal, Maharashtra and other states I executed it gracefully and with my full efforts," said Khan in the letter.
"I have no answers to Muslims and their organisations in Maharashtra raising such issues (not fielding candidate from the community). Therefore, I have decided not to campaign for the party during the Lok Sabha elections 2024," he said.
Khan said he is also resigning from the Maharashtra Congress Campaign Committee.
The Congress is contesting 17 out the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in alliance with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar). They are constituents of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
Speaking separately to PTI, Khan said the Congress it seems has deviated from its long held ideology of inclusivity.
The former cabinet minister said he was inundated with calls from organisations representing minorities and party workers from these social groups, asking why the Congress has ignored them while allotting tickets for elections in Maharashtra.
"I am unable to face questions of why injustice has been done (to minority groups). The party has deviated from its inclusive ideology and giving representation to all communities," said a miffed Khan.
The Maharashtra Congress working president was in race for a ticket from Mumbai North Central, but the party chose city unit president Varsha Gaikwad for the constituency.
Khan had lost the 2019 assembly elections from Chandivali in Mumbai by 409 votes.
