Newslaundry downplays the rape of minor Hindu girl by 65-year-old Muhammad Usman as ‘affair’ and ‘small incident’
On Saturday (3rd May), Newslaundry released the 535th episode of its podcast titled ‘Hafta’ with the theme of World Press Freedom Day and the Pahalgam Attack. During the programme, one of the panellists, Raman Kirpal, cunningly tried to downplay the recent incident of the rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nainital by a 65-year-old Muslim man, Muhammad Usman, as a ‘Muslim boy having an affair with a Hindu girl’.
The panellist went on to describe the situation as one where Muslims were being targeted because of the incident in Nainital, Uttarakhand, and further claimed that Hindus attacked them only because there was an affair between a Muslim boy and a Hindu girl.
Kirpal called it a ‘small incident’ and stated, “In Nainital yesterday, one boy had an affair, or some problem, with a girl. They started beating the Muslims. They shut down those shops, very prominent shops in Nainital. They beat them up, and today the entire place is closed. They are going against the Muslims.” Abhinandan Sekhri and Manisha Pande agreed to the statement.
He further added, “So, they are isolating. And all these incidents have been happening, and Modi has never spoken about it.”
Tensions erupted in Nainital as a 65-year-old Muslim man raped a 12-year-old minor Hindu girl
On 30 April, the Nainital Police arrested a 65-year-old contractor with the Nainital Public Works Department, Muhammad Usman, for raping a 12-year-old minor Hindu girl. The victim had informed her family about the incident after which the family filed a police complaint. Usman was booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the POCSO Act.
The incident took place on 12 April when the victim had gone to the local market to buy some groceries. The accused allegedly lured her by offering Rs 200 and took her to his house. He raped her in his garage and threatened her not to disclose the incident to anyone. Scared by the threat, the victim did not tell her family.
The victim stopped going to school and the family noticed changes in her behaviour. She refused to talk to anyone. The family called her maternal grandmother, but the victim did not tell anyone about the rape and the threats.
Eventually, both sisters stopped going to school, and their maternal grandmother got their names removed from school on 16 April. Finally, she told her mother what happened, and then a complaint was filed against Usman at the Mallital Police Station.
Newslaundry attempted to misrepresent the horrific rape of a 12-year-old Hindu girl by a 65-year-old Muslim man as a mere ‘affair’ between a ‘Muslim boy and a Hindu girl’. It is not only a gross distortion of facts but also a shameful betrayal of journalistic integrity. Such reckless framing waters down the seriousness of the crime, undermines the trauma faced by the victim, and fuels a false narrative against the Hindu community for retaliating against the crime.
News