{"id":20998,"date":"2018-10-19T20:35:31","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T15:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=20998"},"modified":"2019-03-22T20:37:37","modified_gmt":"2019-03-22T15:07:37","slug":"media-analysis-how-fanatic-evangelism-was-declared-as-motive-behind-gurgaon-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/media-analysis-how-fanatic-evangelism-was-declared-as-motive-behind-gurgaon-shooting\/","title":{"rendered":"Media analysis: How ‘fanatic evangelism’ was declared as motive behind Gurgaon shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"

On October 13,\u00a0the wife and son of a Gurgaon district judge were shot<\/a> in broad daylight by their personal security officer (PSO) while on duty. On October 16, the police declared<\/a> that the sole motive behind the murder was\u00a0“sudden rage”.\u00a0<\/em>Several initial media reports had, however, linked the murder to “religious conversion”<\/em>\u00a0even before the police concluded its investigation. They declared that PSO Mahipal pressurised the judge’s family to embrace Christianity, which led to frequent altercations, and the subsequent attack. The basis of these reports was the perpetrator’s spiritual inclination and the multiple statements he gave during police\u00a0interrogation.<\/p>\n

Dainik Jagran<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Dainik Jagran\u00a0<\/em>had first reported the incident on October 13<\/a>, according to which, Mahipal’s motive behind the murder was yet to be ascertained by the police. However, in\u00a0another report<\/a> published two days hence, the Hindi news outlet declared that the\u00a0“entire matter linked to religious conversion.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This article began with reporting that the police were in the lookout for Mahipal’s “guru”<\/em> and “guru ma”<\/em>. It subsequently meandered to incidents in the past when according to “CID sources”<\/em> the duo was detained for converting people in the lieu of medical assistance. Mahipal too was allegedly involved in the same.\u00a0“\u0938\u0940\u0906\u0908\u0921\u0940 \u0938\u0942\u0924\u094d\u0930\u094b\u0902 \u0915\u0940 \u092e\u093e\u0928\u0947\u0902 \u0924\u094b \u092e\u0939\u093f\u092a\u093e\u0932 \u0905\u092d\u0940 \u0924\u0915 2 \u0926\u0930\u094d\u091c\u0928 \u0938\u0947 \u0905\u0927\u093f\u0915 \u092f\u0941\u0935\u093e\u0913\u0902 \u0915\u093e \u0927\u0930\u094d\u092e \u092a\u0930\u093f\u0935\u0930\u094d\u0924\u0928 \u0915\u0930\u093e \u091a\u0941\u0915\u093e \u0939\u0948\u0964 (If CID sources are to be\u00a0trusted, Mahipal has till now religiously converted two dozen people),”\u00a0<\/em>Dainik Jagran\u00a0<\/em>reported.<\/p>\n

Immediately after establishing a link between Mahipal and his ‘Christian’ leaning,\u00a0Dainik Jagran\u00a0<\/em>connected it to the murder. Umbrellaed under the sub-heading\u00a0“was pressurising Judge’s wife and son to religiously convert”, <\/em>the report narrated that Judge Kant’s wife Ritu and son Dhurv opposed to Mahipal’s religious impositions which led him to behave indecently with them and get fits of rage.\u00a0“\u0907\u0938\u0940 \u0935\u091c\u0939 \u0938\u0947 \u0906\u0930\u094b\u092a\u0940 \u0928\u0947 \u0930\u0947\u0923\u0941 \u0914\u0930 \u0909\u0928\u0915\u0947 \u092c\u0947\u091f\u0947 \u0927\u094d\u0930\u0941\u0935 \u0915\u094b \u0936\u0928\u093f\u0935\u093e\u0930 \u0915\u094b \u0917\u0941\u0930\u0941\u0917\u094d\u0930\u093e\u092e \u0915\u0947 \u0938\u0947\u0915\u094d\u091f\u0930 49 \u0938\u094d\u0925\u093f\u0924 \u0906\u0930\u094d\u0915\u0947\u0921\u093f\u092f\u093e \u092e\u093e\u0930\u094d\u0915\u0947\u091f \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0917\u094b\u0932\u0940 \u092e\u093e\u0930 \u0926\u0940\u0964 (For this reason the accused shot at Renu (Ritu) and her son Dhruv on Saturday at Arcadia market in Gurugram sector 49),”\u00a0<\/em>declared\u00a0Dainik Jagran.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dainik Bhaskar<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Dainik Bhaskar\u00a0<\/em>published a report on October 15<\/a>, titled –\u00a0“<\/em>Judge family murder case: Was this the only reason the gunner shot the judge’s wife-son, the entry of ‘guru’ and ‘guru ma’ into the shootout<\/em>\u00a0(translated).”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The media outlet reported about a “religious conversion gang”<\/em> which was run by Mahipal’s alleged ‘guru’ Indraraj. The police were also searching for this ‘guru’ and another ‘guru ma’ who seemed to have had a strong influence on the accused.<\/p>\n

In a subsequent paragraph,\u00a0Dainik Bhaskar<\/em> declared of its own violation that the motive behind the murder was ‘religious conversion’ –\u00a0“\u092e\u0940\u0921\u093f\u092f\u093e \u0930\u093f\u092a\u094b\u0930\u094d\u091f \u0915\u0947 \u092e\u0941\u0924\u093e\u092c\u093f\u0915, \u0938\u0942\u0924\u094d\u0930\u094b\u0902 \u0938\u0947 \u092f\u0939 \u092d\u0940 \u092a\u0924\u093e \u091a\u0932\u093e \u0939\u0948 \u0915\u093f \u092e\u0939\u093f\u092a\u093e\u0932 \u0915\u0908 \u092e\u0939\u0940\u0928\u094b\u0902 \u0938\u0947 \u091c\u091c \u0915\u0940 \u092b\u0948\u092e\u093f\u0932\u0940 \u092a\u0930 \u0927\u0930\u094d\u092e \u092a\u0930\u093f\u0935\u0930\u094d\u0924\u0928 \u0915\u093e \u0926\u092c\u093e\u0935 \u092c\u0928\u093e \u0930\u0939\u093e \u0925\u093e\u0964 \u092f\u0939 \u092d\u0940 \u0915\u0939\u093e \u091c\u093e \u0930\u0939\u093e \u0939\u0948 \u0915\u093f \u090f\u0915 \u092e\u0939\u0940\u0928\u0947 \u0938\u0947 \u0907\u0938 \u092c\u093e\u0924 \u0915\u094b \u0932\u0947\u0915\u0930 \u091c\u091c \u0915\u0947 \u092a\u0930\u093f\u0935\u093e\u0930 \u0938\u0947 \u0909\u0938\u0915\u093e \u091d\u0917\u0921\u093c\u093e \u092d\u0940 \u0939\u094b \u0930\u0939\u093e \u0925\u093e\u0964 \u0936\u0928\u093f\u0935\u093e\u0930 \u0915\u094b \u092e\u094c\u0915\u093e \u092a\u093e\u0915\u0930 \u0909\u0938\u0928\u0947 \u091c\u091c \u0915\u0940 \u092a\u0924\u094d\u0928\u0940-\u092c\u0947\u091f\u0947 \u0915\u094b \u0917\u094b\u0932\u0940 \u092e\u093e\u0930 \u0926\u0940\u0964 (According to media reports, sources say that Mahipal was imposing religious conversion on the judge’s family for several months. It is also being said that since the last month, he had been getting into fights with the judge’s family for the same reason. Taking an opportunity on Saturday, he shot the judge’s wife-son.)”<\/em><\/p>\n

Oneindia\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

On October 15,\u00a0Oneindia\u00a0<\/em>had published a report<\/a> on the\u00a0incident, titled –\u00a0“Gurugram shootout: Gunner Mahipal was involved in a religious conversion racket, wanted to make judge’s wife Christian.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

According to the report, \u0905\u0924\u093f\u0930\u093f\u0915\u094d\u0924 \u091c\u093f\u0932\u093e \u090f\u0935\u0902 \u0938\u0924\u094d\u0930 \u0928\u094d\u092f\u093e\u092f\u093e\u0927\u0940\u0936 \u0917\u0941\u0930\u0941\u0917\u094d\u0930\u093e\u092e \u0915\u0940 \u092a\u0924\u094d\u0928\u0940 \u0930\u0947\u0923\u0941 \u0935 \u0909\u0928\u0915\u0947 \u092c\u0947\u091f\u0947 \u0927\u094d\u0930\u0941\u0935 \u092a\u0930 \u092e\u0939\u093f\u092a\u093e\u0932 \u092f\u093e\u0926\u0935 \u0927\u0930\u094d\u092e \u092a\u0930\u093f\u0935\u0930\u094d\u0924\u0928 \u0915\u093e \u0926\u0935\u093e\u092c \u0921\u093e\u0932 \u0930\u0939\u093e \u0925\u093e\u0964 \u0926\u094b\u0928\u094b\u0902 \u0928\u0947 \u0909\u0938\u0915\u0940 \u092c\u093e\u0924 \u0928\u0939\u0940\u0902 \u092e\u093e\u0928\u0940, \u0924\u094b \u0906\u0930\u094b\u092a\u0940 \u0928\u0947 \u0909\u0928\u0915\u0947 \u0938\u093e\u0925 \u0905\u092d\u0926\u094d\u0930 \u0935\u094d\u092f\u0935\u0939\u093e\u0930 \u0914\u0930 \u0909\u0928 \u092a\u0930 \u0917\u0941\u0938\u094d\u0938\u093e \u0915\u0930\u0928\u093e \u0936\u0941\u0930\u0942 \u0915\u0930 \u0926\u093f\u092f\u093e \u0925\u093e\u0964 \u0938\u0942\u0924\u094d\u0930\u094b\u0902 \u0915\u093e \u0926\u093e\u0935\u093e \u0939\u0948 \u0915\u093f \u0907\u0938\u0940 \u0935\u091c\u0939 \u0938\u0947 \u0906\u0930\u094b\u092a\u0940 \u0928\u0947 \u0930\u0947\u0923\u0941 \u0914\u0930 \u0909\u0928\u0915\u0947 \u092c\u0947\u091f\u0947 \u0927\u094d\u0930\u0941\u0935 \u0915\u094b \u0936\u0928\u093f\u0935\u093e\u0930 \u0915\u094b \u0917\u0941\u0930\u0941\u0917\u094d\u0930\u093e\u092e \u0915\u0947 \u0938\u0947\u0915\u094d\u091f\u0930 49 \u0938\u094d\u0925\u093f\u0924 \u0906\u0930\u094d\u0915\u0947\u0921\u093f\u092f\u093e \u092e\u093e\u0930\u094d\u0915\u0947\u091f \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0917\u094b\u0932\u0940 \u092e\u093e\u0930\u00a0\u0926\u0940| (The wife Renu and son Dhruv of Additional District and Sessions Judge Gurgram were pressurised by Mahipal to convert to Christianity. When both of them did not listen to him, he became furious. According to sources, the accused shot Renu (Ritu) and her son Dhruv on Saturday at Arcadia market situated in Gurugram sector-49.)<\/em><\/p>\n

The news organisation’s reportage was identical to that of\u00a0Dainik Jagran’s<\/em>. Same as the latter,\u00a0Oneindia\u00a0<\/em>wrote that Mahipal murdered the judge’s wife and son because they had opposed forced evangelism.<\/p>\n

Eenadu India<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In an October 17 report<\/a>, news organisation\u00a0Eenadu India\u00a0<\/em>also declared that Judge Kant’s wife and son were murdered because they opposed religious conversion imposed upon them by Mahipal. According to this report, “\u092e\u0939\u093f\u092a\u093e\u0932, \u091c\u091c \u0915\u0940 \u092a\u0924\u094d\u0928\u0940 \u0930\u0947\u0923\u0941 \u0935 \u0909\u0928\u0915\u0947 \u092c\u0947\u091f\u0947 \u0927\u094d\u0930\u0941\u0935 \u092a\u0930 \u092d\u0940 \u092a\u093f\u091b\u0932\u0947 \u0915\u093e\u092b\u0940 \u0938\u092e\u092f \u0938\u0947 \u0927\u0930\u094d\u092e \u092a\u0930\u093f\u0935\u0930\u094d\u0924\u0928 \u0915\u093e \u0926\u092c\u093e\u0935 \u092c\u0928\u093e \u0930\u0939\u093e \u0925\u093e. \u0926\u094b\u0928\u094b\u0902 \u0928\u0947 \u0909\u0938\u0915\u0940 \u092c\u093e\u0924 \u0928\u0939\u0940\u0902 \u092e\u093e\u0928\u0940, \u0924\u094b \u0906\u0930\u094b\u092a\u0940 \u0928\u0947 \u0909\u0928 \u092a\u0930 \u0917\u0941\u0938\u094d\u0938\u093e \u0915\u0930\u0928\u093e \u0936\u0941\u0930\u0942 \u0915\u0930 \u0926\u093f\u092f\u093e \u0925\u093e. \u0907\u0938\u0940 \u0935\u091c\u0939 \u0938\u0947 \u0906\u0930\u094b\u092a\u0940 \u0928\u0947 \u0930\u0947\u0923\u0941 \u0914\u0930 \u0909\u0928\u0915\u0947 \u092c\u0947\u091f\u0947 \u0927\u094d\u0930\u0941\u0935 \u0915\u094b \u0936\u0928\u093f\u0935\u093e\u0930 \u0915\u094b \u0917\u0941\u0930\u0941\u0917\u094d\u0930\u093e\u092e \u0915\u0947 \u0938\u0947\u0915\u094d\u091f\u0930-49 \u0938\u094d\u0925\u093f\u0924 \u0906\u0930\u094d\u0915\u0947\u0921\u093f\u092f\u093e \u092e\u093e\u0930\u094d\u0915\u0947\u091f \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0917\u094b\u0932\u0940 \u092e\u093e\u0930 \u0926\u0940. (Since the last few months, Mahipal was pressurising the judge’s wife Renu (Ritu) and son Dhruv to religiously convert. When both of them did not listen to him, he became furious. For this reason, the accused shot Renu (Ritu) and her son Dhruv on Saturday at Arcadia market situated in Gurugram sector-49.)”<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Aaj Tak<\/strong><\/h3>\n

News organisation\u00a0Aaj Tak<\/em>\u00a0had\u00a0initially reported<\/a> the incident bereft of Mahipal’s ‘Christian’ links. After his spiritual leaning came up during the police investigation,\u00a0Aaj Tak\u00a0<\/em>published another report<\/a> which obliquely connected the murder with religious conversion.<\/p>\n

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“\u0909\u0938\u0928\u0947 \u0939\u093f\u0928\u094d\u0926\u0942 \u0927\u0930\u094d\u092e \u0915\u094b \u0924\u094d\u092f\u093e\u0917 \u0915\u0930 \u0908\u0938\u093e\u0908 \u0927\u0930\u094d\u092e \u0905\u092a\u0928\u093e\u092f\u093e \u0925\u093e. \u092c\u0924\u093e\u092f\u093e \u091c\u093e \u0930\u0939\u093e \u0939\u0948 \u0915\u093f \u0927\u093e\u0930\u094d\u092e\u093f\u0915 \u092c\u093e\u0924\u094b\u0902 \u092a\u0930 \u091c\u091c \u0915\u0940 \u092a\u0924\u094d\u0928\u0940 \u0915\u0947 \u0938\u093e\u0925 \u0909\u0938\u0915\u0940 \u092c\u0939\u0938 \u0939\u094b\u0924\u0940 \u0925\u0940. \u092a\u0941\u0932\u093f\u0938 \u0939\u093f\u0930\u093e\u0938\u0924 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u092d\u0940 \u092e\u0939\u093f\u092a\u093e\u0932 \u0915\u0939 \u0930\u0939\u093e \u0925\u093e \u0915\u093f \u0927\u0930\u094d\u092e \u092a\u0930\u093f\u0935\u0930\u094d\u0924\u0928 \u0915\u094b \u0932\u0947\u0915\u0930 \u091c\u091c \u0915\u0940 \u092a\u0924\u094d\u0928\u0940 \u0909\u0938\u0947 \u092a\u0930\u0947\u0936\u093e\u0928 \u0915\u0930\u0924\u0940 \u0925\u0940. (He surrendered Hinduism and embraced Christianity. It is being told that he used to have arguments with the judge’s wife on religious matters. Even in police custody, Mahipal said that the judge’s wife used to trouble him on the matter of religious conversion),”\u00a0<\/em>reported\u00a0Aaj Tak<\/em>.<\/p>\n

While the article did not explicitly link the murder to ‘religious conversion’, the title of the report\u00a0<\/em>was provocatively worded and implied the same.<\/p>\n

Swarajya<\/strong><\/h3>\n

On October 14,\u00a0Swarajya<\/em> published an article<\/a> titled –\u00a0“<\/em>A Christian \u2018Inquisition\u2019 In India? Gurugram Shooting Being Probed As An Act Of Fanatical Evangelism By A Neoconvert”.\u00a0<\/em>The title suggested that the ‘religious conversion’ angle wasn’t something that came up during police investigation but was being probed as a probable motive behind the murder.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The report claimed that Mahipal was allegedly forcing the judge’s family to convert. Incidentally,\u00a0Swarajya <\/em>also\u00a0quoted a statement of\u00a0Commissioner of Police KK Rao which hinted at Mahipal’s Christian leanings but did not establish that the murder was being probed as an act of ‘fanatical evangelism’.\u00a0“Investigations are on and we are still to know the real motive. Yes, he had been speaking about the Bible,”\u00a0<\/em>said Rao.<\/p>\n

Unlike most of the before-mentioned Hindi news organisations,\u00a0Swarajya\u00a0<\/em>did not directly link the murder to religious conversion or the family’s opposition to it, however, the prejudiced language used in the report attempted to prematurely blame Mahipal’s spiritual inclination for the crime.<\/p>\n

OpIndia<\/strong><\/h3>\n

OpIndia’s\u00a0<\/em>reportage was similar to that of Swarajya’s<\/em>. Its\u00a0October 14 article<\/a>\u00a0was titled –\u00a0“Gurugram double shooting being perceived as a result of fanatic evangelism by a neoconvert.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In the first paragraph, the media outlet –\u00a0“the initial investigation\u00a0insinuates\u00a0that the shooting may be a result of fanatical evangelism of the gunman.” <\/em>Incidentally, the\u00a0source hyperlinked for this information was\u00a0Swarajya<\/em>.<\/p>\n

OpIndia’s\u00a0<\/em>article was largely similar to\u00a0Swarjya’s\u00a0<\/em>report. Though in the title there was an attempt to subtly suggest a link between religious conversion and the shooting, the outlet did not go as far as to directly connect the dots.<\/p>\n

How other media organisations reported the ‘Christianity’ angle<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Following the October 13 incident, Gurugram police began probing the possible motive behind the crime. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was also formed for the purpose. The police were investigating all facets that might have led Mahipal to shoot his employers, and during the probe, Mahipal’s religious inclination was discovered. Many news organisations declared this as the motive behind the murder. However, there were several others that reported it only as a police discovery and refrained from prematurely linking it to the murder.<\/p>\n

NDTV<\/em>\u00a0published several reports on the incident (1<\/a>, 2<\/a>, 3<\/a>, 4<\/a>). None of these either linked the crime to fanatic evangelism or quoted any police officer as saying that the motive behind the murder was Ritu’s opposition to embrace Christianity.<\/p>\n

The Times of India\u00a0<\/em>also extensively covered the crime. In the report<\/a> where the media organisation talked about Mahipal’s religious leanings, the title of the article itself explicitly mentioned that the cops were “clueless” and searched for the accused’s spiritual\u00a0guru. This report was published on October 15, the same day\u00a0Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar\u00a0<\/em>and One India<\/em>\u00a0declared fanatic evangelism as the motive behind the murder.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Times of India\u00a0<\/em>also reported that the police’s investigation found that Mahipal’s ‘guru’ and ‘guru ma’ had a strong influence on him. However, the media outlet followed this statement with – “but none of this has yet helped them (police) understand what led a man with no history of misconduct or violent behaviour to shoot at a family he was assigned to protect…”<\/em><\/p>\n

In an October 16 report<\/a>,\u00a0The Times of India<\/em> quoted a judicial officer, who is also Judge Kant’s colleague, as saying,\u00a0“the guard was heard saying \u2018devil\u2019 and \u2018shaitan\u2019 while firing\u00a0(at Ritu and Dhruv). The use of this kind of words indicates\u00a0something else. This doesn\u2019t reflect normal stress and frustration.<\/em>”\u00a0<\/em>This was comprehended by several media organisations as ‘Satanic’ terms. However, DCP Sulochana Gajraj, who is heading the SIT probe into the attack, was quoted by\u00a0The Times of India\u00a0<\/em>as saying that Mahipal told the cops during interrogation that the words meant\u00a0“bad and dirty person.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sumit Kumar gave an identical statement about the use of the words ‘devil’ and ‘shaitan’ to\u00a0Hindustan Times.<\/em>\u00a0This was reported in an October 14 article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a subsequent October 15 report<\/a> published by the media outlet, DCP Kumar also said that “Mahipal had been watching videos related to religion and it is suspected that he had been attending \u2018conversion\u2019 camps.”\u00a0<\/em>However,\u00a0Hindustan Times\u00a0<\/em>clarified in the following sentence that the news organisation “could not independently verify the claim”<\/em>\u00a0and that\u00a0“the police also could not explain as to how his alleged attendance at such camps could be connected to Saturday\u2019s shooting.”<\/em><\/p>\n

A report published by\u00a0The Tribune\u00a0<\/em>was used by several media outlets to claim that Mahipal was speaking about the Bible. This report<\/a> was published by the news organisation on October 14 and it indeed mentioned that Mahipal spoke about the Bible with investigation officials. He said that “it was every Christian\u2019s duty to eliminate demons.”\u00a0<\/em>However, in the immediate paragraph, The Tribune\u00a0<\/em>quoted\u00a0Commissioner of Police KK Rao who\u00a0said,\u00a0“Investigations are on and we are still to know the real motive. Yes, he had been speaking about the Bible.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Another reportage that stood out was an October 16 article<\/a> published by\u00a0News18.\u00a0<\/em>The news organisation visited the accused’s village and spoke to family members to understand what provoked him to kill. According to\u00a0News18’s\u00a0<\/em>ground investigation, Mahipal had a troubled personal life and in 2014, he changed his religion to Christianity, which several of his relatives resisted. However, they were shocked to hear the news of the attack as his demeanour gave them no reason to suspect.<\/p>\n

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Haryana Police chief B S Sandhu said the motive was still not clear as there was no record of violent behaviour before. \u201cWe are trying to ascertain the reason behind this ghastly act. Our top priority is to solve the case,\u201d<\/em> he said, per\u00a0News18<\/em>. While some of Mahipal’s friend’s said that he was unhappy with the job as the judge’s family made him run household chores, the police were yet to ascertain the motive behind the attack.<\/p>\n

Murder NOT linked to Mahipal’s spiritual inclination: Police<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Haryana police held a press conference on October 16 to provide details about its investigation into the attack. “After probing all aspects of the case, we have reached the conclusion that Mahipal left the car unattended when the judge’s wife and son went shopping in Arcadia market, Gurgaon. When he was questioned and rebuked for not returning on time, he shot the duo in a fit of rage,”<\/em>\u00a0said DCP (crime) Sumit Kumar.<\/p>\n