Sanjay Roy, the prime accused in the case, has been arrested. However, supporters of the BJP and its Hindutva ideology have falsely blamed some Muslims for the gruesome incident
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — As anger and outrage against the brutal rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar medical college in Kolkata grows, people aligned with the Hindutva ideology have started amplifying unverified claims about the involvement of Muslim men in the incident.
On 9 August, a 31-year-old doctor was raped and murdered in the wee hours at the state government-run medical college. The incident sparked massive protests in the city as well as in other parts of the country. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been eyeing to dislodge the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government in the state, has come down heavily against the state government.
Sanjay Roy, the prime accused in the case, has been arrested.
However, supporters of the BJP and its Hindutva ideology have falsely blamed some Muslims for the gruesome incident and accused the government of protecting them.
Madhu Purnima Kishwar, notorious for peddling misinformation and Islamophobia, put out five names claiming that they were guilty of rape and murder. At the same time, the one who was arrested had been “tricked into raping her dead body”. Four out of five names posted by Kishwar are those of Muslims.
Kishwar claimed on the X platform: “It is being ALLEGED that these five Geniuses could be the ones guilty of the barbaric rape & murder of M in the #RGKarCollege. They have reportedly been absconding since August 9. The names may explain why there is such a determined attempt to shield them and hang just ONE man who was tricked into raping her dead body!”
Apart from Kishwar, several other social media handles have blamed Muslim staff of the medical college for the incident. These handles are sharing photos, Facebook profiles and their names claiming that they are the real culprits.
A fact-check done by Alt News has exposed the false claim about Muslim doctor Arshean Alam. Based on CCTV footage and police statements, it was established that Alam was falsely accused of committing the crime. At the time of the commission of the crime, Alam was at his home while the rape and murder was committed at the RG Kar Medical College.
Alt News also spoke to the Joint Commissioner (crime) of Kolkata Police Murlidhar Sharma who had been directly involved in the investigation before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over. He also claimed that according to their findings, Arshean was not involved in the case in any way.
“All of this proves with certainty that the suggestion on social media that Arshean Alam was directly involved in the commissioning of the crime.… is false. And he is not absconding,” said the report.
Pratik Sinha, co-founder of Al News, suggested that there are attempts on the part of CBI to let this misinformation related to Muslims spread.
On X, Sinha wrote: “There are many people whose names are floating around on social media and are being falsely linked to the RG Kar rape and murder case. When we try to talk to them, we find that CBI has told them not to speak with the media. They are not arrested because they are not responsible for the crime. They won’t speak because they’re too afraid since CBI has asked them not to speak. This is the way misinformation will live on on social media, and conspiracy theories will multiply. Hopefully, when CBI submits its status report on the 22nd, some of these rumours can finally be put to rest”.
On the other hand, individuals whose names have falsely been dragged in are terrified.
Alam said: “I am in a state of mental distress. I was at home, yet I am being implicated in this case. This has been incredibly difficult for me and my family. My reputation in society is being tarnished, and this amounts to defamation. A hate campaign is being spread by various social media accounts, and I fear for my safety and that of my family.”
An FIR has also been filed against the handles which posted false information about the accused.
