[Disclaimer: The viral video depicts violence. It has not been embedded in this report.]
Two clips that show a man slitting a woman’s throat in public have been shared online. It is being claimed that a Muslim man in Surat killed a Hindu woman after she refused to convert to Islam. The text also instigates Hindus to “wake up”.
This clip has been shared by multiple Twitter users including @The_Real_Tiger0 and @yogeshDharmSena. In the past, Twitter handle @yogeshDharmSena has shared misinformation multiple times.
Multiple Facebook users also have shared the videos.
True incident, false communal spin
Alt News performed a keyword search on Google and found multiple media reports on the incident. Deputy Superintendent of Police BK Vanar told The Times of India that college student Fenil Goyani killed 21-year-old Grishma Vekariya on February 13 after the latter had refused to commit to a relationship with him. Goyani was arrested the next day from Kamrej, a locality near Surat.
Vanar said, “The accused and victim had studied in school together. His desire for a relationship with her was opposed by her and her kin. At around 6 pm on Saturday, the woman’s uncle confronted Goyani and asked him to stay away from her. When Goyani proceeded to meet the woman, her uncle tried to stop him and was stabbed in the abdomen. When the woman and her brother rushed out, Goyani killed her by slitting her throat. He then injured her brother and attempted suicide by cutting the vein of his arm.”
Alt News spoke with an official at Surat police who was aware of this incident. He said, “Both the victim and accused are not only from the same religious community but also of the same caste.”
None of the media reports or the FIR [view pdf] state that the accused is from the Muslim community. The FIR has been filed under IPC sections 302 (Punishment for murder) and 304 (Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder). As per the FIR, the accused’s full name is Fenilbhia Pankajbhai Goyani.
A false communal angle was thus, injected into the incident.
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