Fact Check: How self-proclaimed Hindu rights activist is spreading false claims on Udupi incident
Rashmi Samant was forced to resign as Oxford Students Council Prez over her 'racists' posts in 2021
Udupi: On Monday, July 24, Rashmi Samant, a self-proclaimed Hindu Rights Activist, took to her Twitter account and made several misleading and false claims about the Udupi incident, where three students of a paramedical college allegedly filmed a fellow student in the restroom as part of a prank video and later deleted it.
The incident had gained attention on social media earlier last week and was later colored with a communal angle by right-wing users and misinformation peddlers, attempting to trigger hate and tension between communities in the sensitive coastal belt of Karnataka.
Rashmi Samant, along with other right-wing ecosystem users, made several claims that were later debunked by the Udupi Police. She mentioned that the three accused students "placed cameras in female toilets of their college to record hundreds of unsuspecting Hindu girls" and that "Videos and photos were then circulated in community WhatsApp groups by the perpetrators." However, the Udupi District Superintendent of Police, Hakay Akshay Machhindra, called a press conference and debunked both claims, asserting that the accused students and the girl who was filmed were acquaintances and that the video was shot as a prank.
Read Also: 'Hidden camera in college washroom': Udupi SP asks public not to believe rumours
I'm from Udupi and nobody is talking about Alimatul Shaifa, Shabanaz and Aliya who placed cameras in female toilets of their college to record hundreds of unsuspecting Hindu girls. Videos and phots that were then circulated in community WhatsApp groups by the perpetrators.
— Rashmi Samant (@RashmiDVS) July 23, 2023
The police also stressed that there was no communal angle to the case and that the video was later deleted by the accused students. The SP also said that the girl was neither blackmailed nor harassed by the accused student or anyone. He also clarified that there were no hidden cameras placed in the restroom, another claim being peddled on Twitter and other platforms.
Furthermore, Rashmi Samant claimed that many of the girls featured in the videos were contemplating self-harm or suicide due to depression and disturbance caused by the incident. However, the police briefing did not make any mention of such claims, and they stated that the incident was an isolated one without any communal conspiracy being discussed on social media. The SP also said the incident involved only one girl who was filmed and that their investigation, as of today did not reveal the involvement of any other girl who was filmed or harassed as being claimed on social media.
Let me tell you, many of the girls who were featured in the videos are depressed and disturbed to the extent that they are contemplating self-harm/suicide. Yet, this issue is not being condemned with the severity it deserves.
— Rashmi Samant (@RashmiDVS) July 23, 2023
The Udupi SP also debunked Rashmi's claim that the videos and photos filmed by the accused students were shared in WhatsApp groups. The police found no evidence of such sharing during their investigation, and neither the girl who was filmed nor her parents filed any complaint in this regard.
Read Also: Udupi SP debunks social media claims on students filming private videos of other students
If you have one last bone of conscience left in you, talk about what happened to the Hindu girls in Udupi so that they don't dare to mess with our girls again.
— Rashmi Samant (@RashmiDVS) July 23, 2023
Even the chairman of the college refuted the claims on social media, stating that no such incident had happened in the college before, and that the claims were fake and baseless.
Another college official, Rashmi, who is the director of the paramedical college where the incident took place denied claims that similar incidents had taken place in the college and called the claims fake and baseless claims.
“It is a lie that this kind of incident happened here before. No one should put fake news and confusing ideas on social media without knowing the truth,” she stated.
Fact-checker and founder of AltNews Mohammed Zubair also called out Samant on Twitter for peddling misleading information and fake news and asked the local police if they will take action against Shefali Vaidya and Rashmi Samant who have been amplifying misinformation related to Udupi?
Will @PoliceUdupi take action against these accounts for amplifying misinformation related to Udupi?
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) July 24, 2023
C'C: @DrParameshwara @DgpKarnataka @HMOKarnataka pic.twitter.com/XY0e5f4FBB
It is important to note that Rashmi Samant who hails from the Udupi district had previously faced controversies for her social media posts, which were labeled anti-Semitic, racist, and transphobic during her short-lived tenure as the President of the Oxford University Students Union in 2021, following which she was forced to resign as the president of the council only five days after she took charge of the post.
The claims made by Rashmi Samant regarding the Udupi incident were debunked by the police, and there is no evidence to support her allegations of a larger communal conspiracy. It is crucial to rely on verified and accurate information to avoid spreading false news that may trigger communal disharmony in the region.
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B'desh: Lawyer killed in clash between security personnel, followers of Hindu leader
Dhaka, Nov 26: A lawyer was killed on Tuesday during clashes between the security personnel and followers of a Hindu community leader, who was denied bail and sent to jail by a Bangladesh court, according to local media reports.
The victim was identified as Saiful Islam, a 35-year-old assistant public prosecutor and a member of the Chattogram District Bar Association, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.
Citing Dr Nibedita Ghosh, a duty doctor at the emergency department of Chittagong Medical College Hospital, the paper said that six others were injured in the clashes that erupted after Chattogram’s Sixth Metropolitan Magistrate court denied bail to prominent Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, arrested on sedition charges.
Nazim Uddin Chowdhury, president of the Chittagong Lawyers' Association, said that protesters dragged a lawyer from beneath his chamber and hacked him to death.
As Das was being taken away in a police van, he addressed the crowd through a hand mike, urging them to remain calm.
Around 3 pm, the law enforcement agencies resorted to sound grenades, tear gas shells, and baton charges, dispersing the protesters.
Deputy Commissioner of City Police Liaquat Ali confirmed one death but said they were still investigating the cause.
The Daily Star newspaper reported that at least 10 people, including journalists, were injured during the clash.
