{"id":290972,"date":"2024-09-26T22:08:01","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T16:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=290972"},"modified":"2024-09-27T18:54:08","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T13:24:08","slug":"bengaluru-murder-right-wings-communal-narratives-fall-flat-as-accused-identified-as-mukti-ranjan-ray-from-odisha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/bengaluru-murder-right-wings-communal-narratives-fall-flat-as-accused-identified-as-mukti-ranjan-ray-from-odisha\/","title":{"rendered":"Bengaluru murder: Right Wing’s communal narratives fall flat as accused identified as Mukti Ranjan Ray from Odisha"},"content":{"rendered":"

The dismembered body of a 29-year-old woman was discovered inside a refrigerator in her home in Bengaluru\u2019s Vyalikaval neighbourhood on Saturday, September 21. The victim, identified as Mahalakshmi, worked at a costume outlet in Malleshwaram and lived alone in a rented house in Vinayaka Nagar, Vyalikaval.<\/p>\n

Once the gruesome crime made headlines, speculation began circulating online, with many claiming that a man named Ashraf was responsible for her death. In no time, communal narratives flooded public discourse with many claiming, directly or indirectly, that it was a case of ‘Love Jihad’ where a Muslim man entered a relationship with a Hindu woman and killed her.<\/p>\n

Aman Chopra from News 18 India led the amplification of this theory and made several communally charged remarks in a bulletin hosted by him. Drawing a comparison to the Shraddha Walkar case<\/a>, where the 27-year-old woman was murdered by her live-in partner Aftab Poonawalla in Delhi in May 2022, Chopra stated: \u201c…Remember how Shraddha Walkar was cut into pieces and put in a fridge. The same thing has happened in Bengaluru. The name has changed\u2014from Shraddha to Mahalakshmi. More than 50 pieces of Mahalakshmi’s body were found in a fridge. Before, the accused was Aftab, now the family is blaming Ashraf…<\/em>” He repeatedly emphasized Ashraf\u2019s name, suggesting a recurring pattern of Muslim men killing their Hindu partners \u2014 a conspiracy theory frequently echoed within Right-wing circles.<\/p>\n

Chopra shared a part of the coverage in a tweet and wrote, “…Earlier it was Shraddha, this time it’s Mahalakshmi. The name has changed, the modus operandi is the same.”(Archive<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\n

\u0907\u0938 \u092c\u093e\u0930 50 \u0938\u0947 \u091c\u093c\u094d\u092f\u093e\u0926\u093e \u091f\u0941\u0915\u0921\u093c\u0947 \u0915\u0930\u0915\u0947 \u092b\u093c\u094d\u0930\u093f\u091c \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0930\u0916\u0947 \u0917\u092f\u0947\u0964<\/p>\n

\u092a\u0939\u0932\u0947 \u0936\u094d\u0930\u0926\u094d\u0927\u093e \u0925\u0940,
\n\u0907\u0938 \u092c\u093e\u0930 \u092e\u0939\u093e\u0932\u0915\u094d\u0937\u094d\u092e\u0940 \u0939\u0948\u0964<\/p>\n

\u0928\u093e\u092e \u092c\u0926\u0932\u093e,
\nmodus operandi \u0935\u0939\u0940 \u0939\u0948\u0964<\/p>\n

pic.twitter.com\/I7W60IbEpa<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Aman Chopra (@AmanChopra_) September 23, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The official X handle of BJP Karnataka amplified the claim that Ashraf was responsible for Mahalakshmi’s murder. In a tweet, they directly claimed Ashraf was the murderer and that Congress’s appeasement policies had led to a collapse of law and order. (Archive<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\n

Under @INCKarnataka<\/a> rule, appeasement policies have led to a complete collapse of law and order. The brutal murder of Mahalakshmi by Ashraf is a clear reminder that Kannadigas are no longer safe in this Hitler-led @siddaramaiah<\/a> government. We urge Congress ministers not to\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/eWt2IOK1UV<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) September 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Vice-president and spokesperson of ISKCON Kolkata Radharamn Das, known for spreading communal misinformation, also tweeted the same claim. “Another body of a Hindu girl found in Abdul’s fridge. This story will keep repeating, and those Hindu girls still with an Abdul will keep thinking, ‘My Abdul is different.’…”, wrote Das. (<\/span>Archive<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Right-wing influencer @MrSinha_, who amplifies communal propaganda on a regular basis, tweeted twice on the matter (tweet 1<\/a>, tweet 2<\/a>), each time stressing the fact that a certain ‘Ashraf’ was the perpetrator. (Archive<\/a>)<\/p>\n

RSS mouthpiece Panchjanya and Right-wing influencers and propaganda handles Kajal Hindustani, Jaipur Dialogues, Rishi Bagree, Ashwini Shrivastava, Sanjeev Newar (the man behind Gems of Bollywood), lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha and Ajeet Bharti, echoed the same claim in their tweets. (Archives 1<\/a>, 2<\/a>, 3<\/a>, 4<\/a>, 5<\/a>, 6<\/a>, 7<\/a>, 8<\/a>)<\/p>\n