{"id":66697,"date":"2020-05-17T16:57:45","date_gmt":"2020-05-17T11:27:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=66697"},"modified":"2020-05-18T09:13:35","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T03:43:35","slug":"gopalganj-boy-drowned-in-river-opindia-falsely-claimed-that-minor-hindu-boy-sacrificed-by-mosque","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/gopalganj-boy-drowned-in-river-opindia-falsely-claimed-that-minor-hindu-boy-sacrificed-by-mosque\/","title":{"rendered":"Gopalganj case: Boy drowns in river, OpIndia claims he was sacrificed in a mosque"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an article<\/a> published on May 9, right-wing propaganda website OpIndia claimed that a mosque sacrificed a Hindu boy in Bihar’s Gopalganj. “A new mosque had been built in the village and it is being alleged that there was a belief that if a Hindu was \u2018sacrificed\u2019, the mosque would become powerful and its influence would increase,” wrote OpIndia claiming that 15-year-old Rohit, son of Rajesh Jaiswal, was killed in Bela Dih village of Kataiya. The article also stated that the boy’s family had to leave the village because of police brutality. “She [Rohit’s sister] alleges that the police had taken a bribe from the accused, hence they were not taking any action against the killers,” read the article.<\/p>\n

“The guardians of those Muslim children, who were sent to call Rohit, were waiting for all the children in that new mosque. When they reached there along with Rohit, he was captured and allegedly strangulated to death, family alleges. There are allegations that six people were involved in the heinous act,” it further stated, claiming that the victim’s sister alleged that his dead body was thrown in a river.<\/p>\n

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Apart from videos of the victim’s sister and father, the article also carries videos of Kataiya police. These are the first two clips attached in the article where the police can be seen misbehaving and hurling abuses at the victim’s family. In a Facebook Live on May 17<\/a>, DGI of Bihar police Gupteshwar Pandey informed that Kataiya SHO Ashwini Tiwari has been suspended. In the two remaining videos, the victim’s family members are pleading for justice. It is noteworthy that they accuse a few people of murder and do not mention any mosque. Nowhere in the videos have the family members claimed that Rohit was killed in a mosque or that he was sacrificed.<\/p>\n

OpIndia published two follow-up stories on the incident and the common element in every report was ‘Gopalganj mosque sacrifice case’.<\/p>\n

Title of the report published on May 9<\/a>: Hindu family leaves Gopalganj district in Bihar due to fear, claims their minor son was sacrificed to make a local Mosque \u2018powerful\u2019<\/p>\n

Title of the report published on May 11:<\/a> Gopalganj mosque sacrifice case: 4 accused arrested by the police, silence on the family’s charges<\/p>\n

Title of another report published on May 11<\/a>: No enmity with anybody, only want justice for son – Father in Gopalganj mosque sacrifice case pleads<\/p>\n

Apart from OpIndia, Sirf News<\/a>, ABP Bihar<\/a> and Vijay Karnataka<\/a> published similar stories. It is to be noted that ABP Bihar is not a part of ABP Group.<\/p>\n

On May 13, OpIndia published two more articles (1<\/a>, 2<\/a>) on the incident. There is no mention of mosque or sacrifice in the title but the articles maintain the claim, crediting it to the victim’s family. A few questions are raised based on OpIndia’s story:<\/p>\n

1. Is there a custom of human sacrifice in Islam?<\/strong><\/p>\n

2. Was a Hindu boy sacrificed to make a mosque ‘powerful’?<\/strong><\/p>\n

3. Were all accused Muslims?<\/strong><\/p>\n

4. Are Hindu residents of the village scared of Muslim residents?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fact-check<\/h4>\n

We will investigate each of these questions, however, before we begin, let us see what the initial reports on the incident say. According to OpIndia, the incident took place on March 28. Dainik Bhaskar<\/a> had published a report on March 30. As per the report, “Rohit had gone for a swim with four of his friends to Goita Tola river. When he did not return home till late in the evening, his family members went looking for him. In the meanwhile, Vijay Mal Bhagat’s son informed that Rohit had drowned in the river and that his friends threatened to kill him if he told anyone which is why he was mum. The police has recorded his statement.” Kataiya SHO told Dainik Bhaskar that for some reason the children had kept the information to themselves. They were unwilling to share any details regarding the case. The police arrested a few people from the victim’s village.<\/p>\n

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Therefore, it can be said with certainty that initial reports on the incident have no mention of mosque, sacrifice or a communal angle.<\/p>\n

1. Is there a custom of human sacrifice in Islam?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alt News contacted Islamic scholar Mufti Mohsin Idree Qasmi who informed, “Islam does not permit Halal sacrifice of any animal for any reason other than an offering to Allah. Human sacrifice is forbidden. According to Quran-e-Pak verse in Al-Ma’idah, the Zibah of an animal for anyone except Allah is not considered Halal.”<\/p>\n

2. Was a Hindu boy sacrificed to make a mosque ‘powerful’?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since OpIndia’s entire story is based on the statement of the victim’s father, Rajesh Jaiswal, his testimony is of utmost importance for the fact-check. We spoke with Rajesh who sounded visibly distressed. The father has been trying to come to term with his son’s death and looking for answers for the unfortunate incident. He shared two theories with us \u2014 first, Rohit had told his mother days before his death that a Maulvi of a new, under-construction mosque used to sprinkle water on him whenever he passed through the area. Second, Rajesh used to manage a pakora\u00a0<\/em>stall with his son. Right opposite to their stall was Sabir Ansari’s shop which wasn’t doing very well. “So maybe they killed my son for this reason,” Rajesh speculated.<\/p>\n

But the FIR filed by Rajesh has no mention of either the Maulvi or Sabir. When asked if the police investigated Sabir, Rajesh said that he has no role in the case. He also denied ever having an issue with Sabir. Speaking with him, we realised the helplessness in his voice. Here was a father gouging every corner to make sense of his son’s death. He was also disappointed with the lackadaisical efforts of the police and the administration.<\/p>\n

It was evident that his theories stemmed from the fact that he had no clear answers. He did not know what killed his son and was thus looking at all possibilities. OpIndia based a story on his speculations \u2014 on the emotional state of mind of a father who lost his child.<\/p>\n

On May 14, DGI Vijay Kumar Verma, who was investigating the incident, said that the matter has now been transferred to the CID and five people have so far been arrested. In a video statement, he said that OpIndia’s claim that the child’s death is connected with a new mosque’s construction is false. He informed to have verified the allegation himself. An FIR has been filed against OpIndia and Khabar Tak, DGI Verma further informed.<\/p>\n