Palghar lynching incident falsely communalised on social media
The story was first published by Altnews.in (read the original post by clicking here.)
On April 16, three men were lynched by an armed mob near Gadchinchale village which comes under the Kasa Police jurisdiction in Maharashtra’s Palghar district. Three days later, videos of the incident on social media were amplified with an insinuation that it was a communally-motivated crime committed by members of the Muslim community.
One such video of the gruesome incident was tweeted by some individuals with the claim that the mob can be heard saying, “Maar Shoaib Maar”.
इस वीडियो के लास्ट में बहुत ध्यान से सुनें, साफ़ साफ़ एक लड़का बोल रहा है, “ मार शोएब मार “
— Mohit Bharatiya ?? #StayHome #StaySafe ! (@mohitbharatiya_) April 19, 2020
Listen carefully man inciting another Shoaib fr lynching Hindu saint "maar maar Shoaib maar"#Palghar_Incident pic.twitter.com/aQO8fp3UdY
Film director Ashoke Pandit twice claimed that the accused involved in the incident is “Shoaib”.
Suresh Chavhanke, the editor-in-chief of Sudarshan News, also claimed that he is able to hear the word “Shoaib” in the video.
Delhi BJP’s Richa Pandey Mishra tweeted the video with the text, “Hit Shoaib Hit, Kill them”. Similar tweets by handle ‘Yana Mir‘ and ‘This Posable‘ has garnered close to 2,700 retweets combined. Facebook page Our India posted the same video with a similar communal narrative. It has been shared more than 2,200 times.
Also viral with a Christian angle
An image of the two deceased men was also shared on social media with a graphic that accuses “the goons of Christian missionaries” for the attack.
#PalgharMobLynching
— manoj bhai (@ShriManoj9) April 20, 2020
Sadhus R murdered by mobs in front of police.
Police failing to protect them
Media shows little concern for their plight
In the land of Yoga, dis can't be tolerated & all groups involved must be made strictly accountable#हिन्दू_संतों_की_हत्या_क्यों❓#Palghar pic.twitter.com/AAu5omyIxn
No “Shoaib” in the video
After listening to several videos of the same incident taken from different angles, Alt News found that the men are saying, “Bass oye bass (Stop hey stop)”. In the video posted below, the same can heard. Thus, the claim that one of the perpetrators involved in the incident was Shoaib is baseless.
Did you here at 10 sec what I hear? #JusticeForHinduSadhus pic.twitter.com/6Q2HcKfrzQ
— Hasmukh Parmar (@Parmar_Hasmukh_) April 19, 2020
No communal angle
Maharastra’s Home Minister took to Twitter and informed that the incident has no communal angle and that the accused and the victim were not from different faiths.
मुंबईसे सूरत जानेवाले ३ लोगों की पालघर में हुई हत्या के बाद मेरे आदेश से इस हत्याकांड में शामिल १०१ लोगों को पुलिस हिरासत में लिया गया है। साथ ही उच्च स्तरीय जांच के आदेश भी दिए गए हैं। इस घटना को विवादास्पद बनाकर समाज में दरार बनाने वालों पर भी पुलिस नज़र रखेगी।#LawAndOrder
— ANIL DESHMUKH (@AnilDeshmukhNCP) April 19, 2020
CM Uddhav Thackeray has also ruled out any communal angle in the incident and said that it had occurred as rumours about thieves roaming in the area were making the rounds.
The incident took place on the night of April 16 when three men were attacked by a mob of local tribals near Gadchinchale village. They were reportedly on their way from Mumbai’s Kandivili to Silvassa to attend a funeral when they were stopped by a vigilante group that was set up by locals to patrol during the night. The mob questioned these men who were travelling in a van. They pelted stones at them and later beat them up with sticks. The police have detained over 100 people and nine minors in connection with the lynching.
Alt News reached out to PRO of Palghar police who reiterated that there is no communal angle to the incident. We were informed that both the accused and victim are from the same faith. The accused belong to the tribal community. The PRO said, “There was a rumour circulating in the area and the police had also issued a message regarding it.” There were reportedly rumours about migrants robbing the tribals village in Palghar district.
Palghar SP Gaurav Singh informed The Indian Express that the investigation into the incident has so far focused on identifying the sources of the rumours spread in the tribal village.
Moreover, according to the 2011 census data of the Gadchinchale village of the Dahanu Taluka, it has over 248 households and of which majority of them belong to the scheduled tribe.
Days before the incident, four police personnel were left injured in an incident where the SUV of a skin specialist Dr Vishwas Walwi of Thane was destroyed at Saarni village by a mob. “At least 250 people had attacked them when Dr Walwi was returning home after distributing food grains and conducting a small door-to-door thermal screening of tribals,” said a report Hindustan Times published on April 17, 2020.
Prominent social media users like Suresh Chavhanke and Ashoke Pandit attempted to give the incident a communal colour by claiming that the men involved in the lynching were members of the Muslim community. The accused and victims both hail from the same religion. There is no communal angle to the incident.
The story was first published by Altnews.in (read the original post by clicking here.)
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.
Trump rushed out of dinner event after shots fired; one arrested
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump and other top White House officials were evacuated unharmed from the annual dinner of White House correspondents after a man armed with multiple weapons fired shots outside the ballroom of the hotel.
The incident took place at around 8:34 PM local time when dinner was served. At that time, Trump was seen having a conversation with Weijia Jiang, the President of the White House Correspondents' Association, and mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was scheduled to present a show at the marquee event at the Washington Hilton here.
Secret Service officials and other security personnel covered the President, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J D Vance, and the Second Lady Usha Vance, who were seated at the head table, and escorted them out of the ballroom.
Several guests at the dinner, including leaders across the political spectrum, journalists and other invitees, ducked under the table, apparently as a reflex reaction.
Putting up a brave face, President Trump later announced on Truth Social that the dinner would be rescheduled within 30 days.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom is all that I heard, and many guests ducked under the table,” a C-SPAN reporter at the dinner said.
Hours later, Trump addressed a press conference at the White House and announced that the security personnel had captured one person who hails from California.
“I heard a noise and sort of thought it was a tray going down. I've heard that many times. It was a pretty loud noise, and it was from quite far away. He (the attacker) hadn't reached the area at all. They really got him,” Trump told reporters, recalling the incident.
Trump said one security officer was shot at but saved as he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
Several protestors had lined up on the road outside the hotel, raising slogans against the Trump administration and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
A CNN reporter who was outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton said he saw a gunman opening fire just a few feet away. He was among the dozens of attendees who took cover as law enforcement swarmed the venue.
The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from California.
Asked how Saturday’s incident impacts him as the US president, Trump told reporters he is in a dangerous job but that he is no “basket case.”
“I like not to think about it. I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it’s a dangerous life. I think I handle it as well as it can be handled,” Trump said.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts over the past two years – first at a presidential election campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, and later in Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024.
“I will say you had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals, and progressives...everybody in that room, big crowd, record-setting crowd,” he said.
“We had some great work done by law enforcement, but in light of this evening's events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully,” Trump said.
