A 1:12 minute clip shows a woman with open wounds on her neck and right cheek. At a distance, a mob can be seen apprehending the alleged perpetrator who knifed the woman. She pleads to the men recording the clip, “Please don’t upload this on social media” and is given assurance from one among the crowd. This clip has been shared with a ‘love-jihad’ angle. Alt News has received several requests on its WhatsApp helpline number to fact-check the video.
Former OpIndia Hindi editor Ajeet Bharti was among those who retweeted the clip last year.
A few others also shared the clip in 2020 claiming that a Muslim man had attacked the woman (archive).
The same clip was shared when an advertisement by jewellery brand Tanishq featuring an interfaith baby shower sparked social media vitriol by those who felt it promoted ‘love jihad’.
“देख लो लव जिहाद में फंसने वाली हिन्दू ल़डकियों का हाल (See the condition of the Hindu girl trapped in love jihad),” wrote @UmaShankar2054, drawing over 30,000 views and close to 2,000 retweets.
The video was quite widespread on Twitter.
Viral since 2019
The same video but shorter was circulating on both Facebook and Twitter in 2019 with the claim that “Hindu brothers saved a Hindu girl” in Jharkhand’s Ramgarh.
ये घटना है झारखंड के रामगढ़ जिले के पतरातू घाटी की जहां हिन्दू भाइयो की सतर्कता ने एक हिन्दू लड़की की जान बचाई।
शांतिदूत लड़की को मारने के उद्देश्य से घुमाने ले आया था ।।जादा से जादा R T करें ताकि हर हिंदू बहन जान सके इन मूल्लो को pic.twitter.com/67P9ZTCn7Y
— जितेन्द्र निषाद (@jitenishad) September 19, 2019
The complete message read, “ये घटना है झारखंड के रामगढ़ जिले के पतरातू घाटी की जहां हिन्दू भाइयो की सतर्कता ने एक हिन्दू लड़की की जान बचाई। शांतिदूत लड़की को मारने के उद्देश्य से घुमाने ले आया था ।।”
The clip had also been shared with the claim that the perpetrator’s name is Nafees. “झारखंड के रामगढ़ का निवासी नफ़ीस अपनी हिंदू गर्लफ़्रेंड को घुमाने ले गया था और उसपर कैंची से ताबड़तोड़ प्रहार करने लगा, आसपास के लोगों की जागरुकता से पकड़ा गया, लेकिन लानत है हिंदू लड़कियों पर जो इनका शिकार बनती हैं.. जागरुक बनो बेवक़ूफ़ नहीं..”
The 1:12 minutes long video which is currently being shared was circulated with a ‘love Jihad’ angle in 2019 as well. “पिथौरिया घाटी में अपनी गर्लफ्रेंड को घुमाने के बहाने लाया था और मर्डर कर रहा था ये लड़का ये हरामी चंदवा का रहने वाला है जरा इसकी जात का पता करें मुझे तो दाल में काला काला नजर आ रहा है कोई बड़ी साजिश रची गई थी लड़की के लिए शायद लव …… का मामला हो सकता है (He got his girlfriend to Pithoria ghati under the false pretext of taking her out but wanted to murder her. He is a resident of Chandwa, need to find out his community because I believe there is a conspiracy, maybe it’s a case of love…)”
A 28-second video of the incident was also circulated with a message warning Hindu girls to stay safe – “पिथौरिया घाटी में अपनी गर्लफ्रेंड घुमाने लाया था और मर्डर कर रहा था ये लड़का हिन्दु लड़किया ध्यान से देखो इस वीडियो को कितना घिनौना है यह आदमी .”
NO COMMUNAL ANGLE
The incident dates back to September 15, 2019, when a youth named Arvind Kumar knifed his alleged girlfriend suspecting she was having an affair with another man. Kumar, a resident of Chandwa, had come to Ranchi to meet the woman. They were riding a bike on Patratu Valley when they got into an argument and Kumar stabbed the woman. She screamed and tried to escape when passers-by spotted her and apprehended Kumar who was later arrested by Pithoria police. The incident was reported by Prabhat Khabar and Etv Bharat, which we found via a keyword search on Google.
Alt News contacted Pithoria police and was told that the woman had been ignoring Kumar’s calls who confronted her regarding the matter. Enraged with her audacity, he stabbed her with a knife. The police further informed that the woman hailed from the same community as the perpetrator.
A video of men thrashing a person who knifed a woman allegedly over a spat between the couple has been presented on social media with a communal angle. Incidents of crimes against women are often circulated on social media with false claims pinning the blame on the Muslim community. Earlier, cases from Pakistan (1, 2) were shared with the same narrative in the Indian social media ecosystem. Videos are often promoted with a bogus ‘love jihad’ spin. Recently, a video of a father removing his turban in front of his daughter in hopes that she does not marry the man she loved was presented with similar claims despite both of them being Hindus.
[Note: This is a recurring false claim and the article will be updated as and when the claim appears.]
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