False claim suggests 40 out of 62 AAP MLAs are accused of rape - Alt News
Priyanka Jha
15th February 2020 / 8:56 pm / Last updated: 15th February 2020
On February 13, JDU leader Dr Ajay Alok tweeted (archive link) that 40 out of 62 AAP MLAs are accused of rape.
His complete tweet reads: “62 में 40 रेप के आरोपी , उनके समर्थन से @ArvindKejriwal जी मुख्यमंत्री , वाक़ई नई राजनीति की शुरुआत हुई हैं , दिल्ली को रेप कैपिटल कहने वाले आप लोगों ने तो RJD को पीछे कर दिया, @laluprasadrjd ख़ुश होंगे आज की कोई तो आगे निकला , समझ आता हैं की निर्भया कांड क्यों होता हैं जनता ??”
The claim is viral on Twitter and Facebook.
On February 12, Economic Times published a reported which stated that 37 out of the 70 newly-elected MLAs of Delhi have declared serious criminal cases against themselves, including attempt to murder, and at least one related to rape. The report credited a study by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) as the source.
According to the ADR report, 33 out of 62 MLAs of Aam Aadmi Party have serious criminal cases against them. The report includes a comparative study of criminal cases declared by candidates in 2015 and 2020. As per the report, since 2015 there has been an increase in the number of candidates who declared criminal and serious criminal cases.
The subheading ‘party-wise candidates with criminal cases’ on page 5 states, “Among major parties, 42(60%) out of 70 candidates analysed from AAP, 26(39%) out of 67 candidates analysed from BJP, 18(27%) out of 66 candidates analysed from INC, 12 (18%) out of 66 candidates analysed from BSP and 3(60%) out of 5 candidates from NCP have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.”
Page six states, “Among major parties, 36(51%) out of 70 candidates analysed from AAP, 17(25%) out of 67 candidates analysed from BJP, 13(20%) out of 66 candidates analysed from INC, 10 (15%) out of 66 candidates analysed from BSP and 2(40%) out of 5 candidates from NCP have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.”
The same page, under the sub-heading ‘candidates with declared cases related to crime against women’ states, “32 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women. Out of 32 candidates, 1 candidate has declared cases related to rape (IPC Section-376).”
The details ‘Candidates with Declared Criminal Cases’ can be viewed onward page 78 in the report. Page 122 mentions Mohinder Goyal from Rithala who has declared rape charges against himself. Goyal also has charges related to ‘Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman.’ As per the report, Goyal isn’t convicted of any of the charges against him.
Alt News also searched Goyal’s credentials on My Neta and found that one serious case is pending against him.
According to the ADR report, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan from Okhla, Prakash from Deoli, Abhay Verma from Laxminagar, Jarnail Singh from Tilak Nagar and Dinesh Mohania from Sangam Vihar have been charged with IPC 354, assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty. But only one case related to rape is stated in the ADR report which is against Goyal.
Therefore, the claim made by Dr Ajay Alok is false. 40 out of 62 AAP MLAs are not accused of rape. Even after the conclusion of Delhi assembly elections, rumours are being spread on social media about AAP. Ahead of the polls, a fake list was circulated to claim that most of the candidates of AAP hail from the Muslim community.
She specializes in information verification, examining mis/disinformation, social media monitoring and platform accountability. Her aim is to make the internet a safer place and enable people to become informed social media users. She has been a part of Alt News since 2018.
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