The Print on Monday published a report that appeared to be an attempt to whitewash the murder of Rinku Sharma. The reporter regurgitated the claims made by the family of the accused in what appears to be an attempt to give them a free pass in the matter.
The family of the accused claimed that it was Rinku Sharma who brought a knife to attack the accused. The report says, “The families claimed Rinku was drunk and had become hysterical, and that his mother Radha Devi had tried to stop him from attacking the five men.”
The manner in which the accused in such are are given a free pass by the media has almost become repetitive at this point. Whenever the accused in such cases happen to be from the minority community, the media jumps into the scene to run interference for them.
There have been many such instances but certainly, there are some prominent ones that spring to mind.
Tahir Hussain: Delhi Riots Case
During the initial phases of the investigation into the Delhi riots, when the role of Tahir Hussain first came to fore, the media and the liberal establishment were overeager to give him a free pass. When a video was circulating that purportedly showed Tahir Hussain soliciting police help, AltNews quickly concluded that the video was genuine and not doctored as many people suspected.
India Today provided a platform to the accused as well in order to peddle his defense. The Wire also regurgitated his defense as well without bothering to highlight the fact that there was video evidence that highlighted his role in the entire chain of events.
In the process, the media and the liberal establishment ignored the monumental evidence against the former AAP Councilor. Since then, the investigation has revealed that Tahir Hussain is one of the masterminds behind the conspiracy to unleash violence at the national capital.
The Hauz Qazi Temple desecration
In July 2019, when a Hindu Temple in Delhi’s Hauz Qazi was desecrated by a Muslim mob, the media rushed to absolve the local Muslim community of all responsibility.
The National Herald furthered the narrative, “It was clear that AAP govt in Delhi genuinely wanted the communal surcharge to be contained swiftly and prudently. Why can’t this happen in other sensitive areas of the country?”
Newslaundry, on the other hand, blamed the media for reporting that a boy had gone missing. NewsLaundry’s claim that OpIndia reported the case of the missing boy “just when everything seemed to be under control” pretending as if OpIndia was responsible for the situation at Hauz Qazi.
Furthermore, it was also claimed that the local Hauz Qazi Muslim community had helped in installing the Murthis later on, a claim that was denied by Hindu activists.
The Kamlesh Tiwari Murder
Hindu activist Kamlesh Tiwari was murdered brutally by Radical Muslims due to comments he had made earlier which were labelled as ‘blasphemous’. Following the murder, the liberal establishment instead of speaking against Islamic fundamentalism, peddled dangerous rhetoric and focused its attention on ‘Hindu intolerance’ instead.
Aatish Taseer, son of former Pakistani Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, said ‘Ordinary Muslims’ should abandon peace and ‘need to organize’. He said that ‘Ordinary Muslims’ shouldn’t be caught off-guard.
‘Communist atheist’ Umar Khalid preached the Glory of Islam and ranted about ‘right-wing intolerance’ instead. It was part of a coordinated attempt to deflect attention from the threat of Radical Islamic Terrorism and blame the ‘Hindutva brigade’ for preaching hatred.
Humanizing the Pulwama terrorist
21 year old Adil Ahmad Dar massacred over 40 Indian security personnel in the Pulwama terrorist attack. After the identity of the suicide bomber became public, the media engaged in a full blown campaign to humanize the terrorist and absolve the family of all blame.
Furthermore, they provided them with the opportunity to blame the Indian Security Forces instead. The mainstream media relied on the family of the terrorist to claim that he had chosen to become a terrorist because he was supposedly harassed by the Indian Army.
One report claimed that the ‘family of the Jaish operative can’t believe he joined militant ranks’. An NDTV employee glorified the attack.
The Rinku Sharma Murder
In the current instance, we see the same pattern play out before our eyes. There’s a culture of victim-blaming that the liberal establishment loves to peddle whenever Hindus are victims of such crimes.
The liberal establishment will go out of its way to pin the blame on the victim himself. It is a disgusting pattern of behaviour that we have only come to aspect from the media. Furthermore, it is claimed that Rinku Sharma allegedly forced one Zahid to consume alcohol at a birthday party which led to the fight.
Consuming alcohol is considered haram in Islam. Thus, it appears the foundation to justify the murder is already being laid.
