Accused in 17-yr-old’s murder in Delhi not Muslims, false claim viral on social media

A CCTV footage of a person being stabbed in a narrow lane is being circulated on social media with the claim that the accused belongs to the Muslim community. National vice-president & in-charge of Rajasthan Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Neha Joshi tweeted the video with the caption, “15-year-old Manoj Negi from Uttarakhand stabbed to death in Delhi for standing up against Muslim goons trying to molest his sister”. (Archive)

15-year-old Manoj Negi from Uttarakhand stabbed to death in Delhi for standing up against Muslim goons trying to molest his sister. 😪 pic.twitter.com/MUZ1qoaynS

— Neha Joshi (@The_NehaJoshi) October 29, 2022

Several other users tweeted the CCTV footage with the same claim. A lot of users claimed that the victim was named Manoj Pandey. (Archives- 1, 2, 3, 4)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

According to a tweet by Sudarshan News, 15-year-old Manoj Negi was stabbed to death after he had objected to his sister’s harassment. In the tweet, the news outlet linked this incident with the murder of Bajrang Dal leader Nitesh Chaudhary, where the accused were Muslims, according to some reports. Sudarshan News used the word जिहादि or Jihadi, a word often used by the Right Wing to target Muslims. Drawing a parallel between the two crimes, it indirectly suggested that in the Delhi incident too, the accused could be Muslims. (Archive)

बहन से छेड़खानी का विरोध किया तो 15 साल के युवक मनोज नेगी की चाकुओं से गोद गोद कर हत्या कर दी गयी।

जिहादियों ने इसी इलाक़े के पास में कुछ दिन पहले नितेश जाट की भी पीट-पीट कर हत्या की थी। pic.twitter.com/uK6fe3TbYk

— Sudarshan News (@SudarshanNewsTV) October 29, 2022

Sudarshan News’ chief managing director and editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke also tweeted the video with the same caption. (Archive)

बहन से छेड़खानी का विरोध किया तो 15 साल के युवक मनोज नेगी की चाकुओं से गोद गोद कर हत्या कर दी गयी।

जिहादियों ने इसी इलाक़े के पास में कुछ दिन पहले नितेश जाट की भी पीट-पीट कर हत्या की थी।
pic.twitter.com/J4ezcBbs79

— Suresh Chavhanke “Sudarshan News” (@SureshChavhanke) October 29, 2022

Fact Check

Upon a keyword search on Google, we found an NDTV article with the headline, ‘Delhi Teen Stabbed To Death After He Protested Sister’s Harassment.’ The article contains the viral CCTV footage. According to the article, a teenager was stabbed to death by two minors in Delhi for allegedly protesting his sister’s harassment. The victim was attacked near his house while he was returning from computer class, said police. He was taken to a hospital but declared brought dead. A case had been registered and the two accused, both minors, were detained. The viewer must note that there is no mention of the accused being Muslims in the NDTV article.

We found a Zee News article on the incident as well under the headline ‘Delhi: 2 youths, who killed boy for opposing sister’s molestation, nabbed by police’. According to a police statement to Zee News, “During the investigation, both the juveniles disclosed that they used to eve-tease the sister of the deceased. A few days ago, the deceased had warned them to stay away from his sister and slapped them. In order to take revenge, both of them caught Manoj and stabbed him which caused his death.”

The victim, who was identified as Manoj Kumar Negi, was taken to Sardar Patel Hospital where he was declared brought dead. Both the juvenile assailants had been apprehended and the weapon of offence recovered. No communal angle has been mentioned in the Zee News report either.

Alt News procured a copy of the FIR filed by Manoj Negi’s father. The FIR mentions that Manoj Negi had left for his computer class at around 8 pm. Around 9:15 pm, his father heard a commotion and rushed outside. He found his injured son lying on the street. On his way to the hospital, Manoj Negi told his father that two minors who live in the same locality would harass his sister continuously. A few days ago, Manoj had slapped one of them, and they stabbed him as revenge.

The minors, who have been identified in the FIR, are Hindus. This was also confirmed by DCP Shweta Chauhan who denied any communal angle to the story. Alt News is holding back their identity since they are juveniles. On being asked about the reason behind the stabbing, DCP Chauhan reiterated that the accused used to harass Negi’s sister. “They had an altercation previously. The accused had a grudge against Manoj Negi which led to the murder.”

Hence, it is clear that the murder of Manoj Negi was given a false communal spin by Twitter handles, noticeably aligned with the Right Wing. Propaganda outlet Sudarshan News and its editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke also seemed to suggest that the accused could be Muslims by using the term ‘Jihadi’ and linking the incident with another one.

Alt News has in the past documented how Sudarshan News and its journalists frequently put out misinformation. The report can be read here.