Karnataka police has booked three people from Kodagu district, including a journalist for allegedly 'morphing' a video to make a fake communal claim that Muslim women chanted 'Pakistan zindabad' at a protest.
The video which originally shows the Muslim women raising 'Ambedkar zindabad' claims was allegedly edited to add Kannada text claiming they said 'Pakistan zindabad'. The three charged are Raghu, a member of the Gram Panchayat, Harish a journalist from the area and another person Girisha who shared it on several WhatsApp groups. "Raghu and Harish are members of the Gram Panchayat and the latter is also a journalist. They added the Kannada text on the video that made the fake claim of Pakistan Zindabad. Girisha who is from Madikeri shared the video on several WhatsApp groups. All three of them made the fake video viral leading to communal tensions and causing a bandh in the area," Senior Inspector Parashiva Murthy of Somwarpet police station told BOOM.
The three accused have been booked under 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and sections 34 (criminal acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC.
The video is also viral on Facebook with a caption in Kannada that translates to, "Muslim women are chanting Pak zindabad in our Kodagu.Look at the state of our country, our Kodagu district. There were reports that different religious groups beat up a Dalit person and a case had been filed in Shanivarasanthe Station in Somwarpet Taluk. Muslim women got in front of the station and chanted Pakistan zindabad. Our police just stood there and watched the women chant Pak zindabad in front of the police station"
Speaking to BOOM, Senior Inspector Parashiva Murthy of Somwarpet police station said the video is from a November 12 protest outside the Shanvirsanthe police station. Explaining details about the case, Murthy said, "On the night of November 11, there was a scuffle between two people - Zakir and his family travelling in a car who were allegedly stopped by a youngster Nandan and not allowed to pass. We arrested two people from Zakir's family for beating up Nandan and because of this the former's family protested outside the police station," Murthy said
Murthy said the claim with the video is fake and was spread to give a false communal tone to the incident. "There were no Pakistan Zindabad slogans raised at the protest. You can clearly hear Ambedkar Zindabad being chanted. Further, this was happening right outside the police station; if there were such slogans raised, we would have taken immediate action."
Hindutva Organisation Call For Bandh Based On Fake Video
BOOM found that several Hindutva organisations called for a bandh in the region following the incident. According to news reports, members of three Hindutva organisations - Kodagu Yuva Sene, Namo Coorg Lions and the Bajrang Dal called for a bandh urging the police to arrest those who raised pro-Pakistan slogans and assaulted a Dalit youth.
A report in Deccan Herald, from November 15 said the bandh was successful and attended by several Hindu organisations who "raised anti-national slogans in front of the town police station." The report further said that cases were registered against 200 workers for violating the prohibitory orders.