Two ‘journalists’ with HW News Network were taken into custody earlier this week from Assam after Tripura Police registered number of cases against them. Two ‘journalists’, Samriddhi Sakunia and Swarna Jha were accused of publishing and broadcasting false and fabricated news which were aimed at disrupting communal harmony.
Sakunia, who hails from Odisha, on November 11 tweeted a video claiming a Quran copy was burnt Tripura’s Darga Bazar on 19th October, 2021. Situation in Tripura had turned communally sensitive in October after protests were held against the attack on Hindus in Bangladesh during Durga Puja. Protests in Tripura turned violent too and reports emerged that some mosque was burnt down. However, the police had categorically denied that no mosque was burnt down in Tripura.
But Sakunia claimed so in her tweet and video. Police contacted Rahmat Ali, owner of the prayer hall mentioned by HW ‘journalist’ who denied burning down of any copy of Quran. Naturally, Police reached out to Sakunia to give evidence to the claims she was making in her report. After all, there were repercussions of the violence in Tripura in other states like Maharashtra where violence had erupted earlier this month.
Except, Sakunia asked Police to find the evidence themselves. So, Sakunia goes on record to make claims that somewhere a Quran was burnt, which could lead to communal violence, but would not take any responsibility of her statements.
Sakunia and her colleague Jha, despite being asked by Police to not leave Tripura, sneaked out of the state and escaped to Assam. They planned to take a flight out of Assam to Delhi. However, Tripura police reached out to their Assam counterparts who nabbed the duo who were then brought back to Tripura on Monday, November 15.
Turns out, the conduct of the duo was highly suspicious from the beginning. The two women checked in to the hotel and identified themselves as ‘students’ instead of journalists and mentioned purpose of their visit as ‘work’. They visited Dharmanagar, Gomati and other Muslim-dominated areas of the state and allegedly made slanderous remarks against Hindus in what appears like a bid to provoke Muslims to take revenge against the Hindus.
In spite of this, the entire ‘liberal’ brigade is crying foul that the freedom of press in India is under attack. Remember, the two women are accused of fabricating news and their conduct has also been suspicious. And when police asked for evidence to back their claims which could trigger communal violence, they just put their hands up and asked police to do it instead.
Except, this absolutely brazen behaviour of shooting from the hip and shrugging off responsibility of actions is a trick as old as time.
Arundhati Roy and 2002 Gujarat riots fables
In 2002, 59 karsevaks returning from Ayodhya were burnt alive after a Muslim mob set train compartments on fire in Godhra. Subsequently, communal riots broke out in Gujarat where hundreds of people died. While a lot of stories were heart wrenching, many, many were fiction.
One very popular myth is of a Hindu mob raping a Muslim woman, slitting her pregnant stomach and flinging her foetus in the air. However, postmortem of Kausar Bano told a different story. A 2010 report states that the doctor who conducted post-mortem on Kauser, found the foetus intact. Dr J S Kanoria, who had conducted the autopsy on 2nd March, 2002 presented supporting documents to the special court and said that the foetus was intact in the woman’s womb. The foetus weight 2,500 gms and was 45 cms long.
Further, during the postmortem and cross examination of witness, it had come to light that Kausar Bano died of suffocation, fear and shock and her body bore no external or internal injuries. As per reports, during his deposition, Kanoria stated that Bano’s body bore no internal or external injury; moreover, there was no sword injury on her body. Dr Kanoria was working at the government civil hospital during the riots and had given statement that Kausar Bano’s foetus was removed after the post-mortem. The post-mortem was conducted on 1st March 2002.
Unfortunate death of Kausar Bano was twisted and way too many fictional elements added in what appears like a bid to fan communal tensions.
Another such ‘story’ was narrated by seasoned ‘liberal’ Suzanna Arundhati Roy. In an article published in May 2002 in Outlook, Roy had talked about her ‘friend’ from Vadodara, Gujarat. The ‘friend’ who was not named was weeping and then narrated a story to her. The story was about one ‘Sayeeda’ who was a ‘friend’ of this unnamed ‘friend’. Sayeeda’s stomach was ripped open and stuffed with burning rags and ‘Om’ was then tattooed on her forehead.
Except, of course, when Balbir Punj (then a BJP MP) decided to follow up on this horrific incident to try and get justice for Sayeeda, he found out that when the Gujarat Police reached out to Roy for helping her identify victim so they can bring justice to her, Roy’s lawyer shrugged and said how Police has no power to ‘summon’ her.
So, not only was Sayeeda brutally murdered (one here is assuming she did not survive burning rags in her tummy) but even her friends and friends of friends did not want to help identify her killers.
And we are to believe this and take Roy’s words for it because why would Roy lie about Sayeeda? After all, she was ‘friend’ of a ‘friend’ who had no name. Wait, isn’t that kind of déjà vu? Who would’ve thunk 20 years later, two ‘journalists’ would do a Roy Redux in Tripura in yet another communal violence!
While we’re on topic of Roy, here’s another one where with full conviction, she also said that the karsevaks who were burnt alive were returning from Ayodhya after demolishing the disputed structure often referred to as Babri Masjid at Ram Janmabhoomi.
Roy, with all confidence and conviction claiming Babri was demolished in 2002. Further, she also has the gall to claim ‘no one knew’ how the ‘train caught fire’. No, Roy, train ‘did not catch fire’, it was set on fire, by a murderous mob of Islamists specifically to kill Hindus returning from Ayodhya after karseva. A court of law has actually sentenced the accused, many of them to death.
Teesta Setalvad and fake news cottage industry
Gujarat riots also proved as a very fertile ground for ‘NGOs’ and ‘human rights activists’ to make a name as well as money for themselves. One such ‘activist’ is Teesta Setalvad. Remember how Tripura Police has alleged that the two women tried to incite the Muslims in Tripura to take revenge? Well, it is kind of a standard operating procedure for the ‘fact-finders’ and ‘human rights activists’.
In February 2020, just before the anti-Hindu riots broke out in Delhi, Muslim protestors had blocked the main road in Shaheen Bagh in Delhi to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The CAA did not affect Indians of any religion and was only meant to fast-track Indian citizenship of persecuted religious minorities, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians, Jews in the neighbouring Islamic countries Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. However, the Indian ‘liberals’ and protesting Muslims decided it was ripping Indian Muslims off their citizenship. Again, the CAA did not affect Indians, Hindus, Muslims or anyone of any other faith.
Amid all this, Teesta Setalvad was accused of tutoring Shaheen Bagh protestors.
Teesta Setalvad tutoring Shaheen Bagh protestors on what questions to ask the interlocutors, appointed by the Supreme Court… See how organic and spontaneous this movement is? pic.twitter.com/gsZCBS5l0t
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) February 19, 2020
In the 2-minutes long video, a lady can be heard reading out a list of questions the women could ask the interlocutors appointed by the Supreme Court to mediate and convince the Shaheen Bagh protestors to relocate to an alternative place. Teesta Setalvad could be spotted right behind her overseeing the tutoring.
Setalvad has been accused of embezzling funds meant for Gujarat riot victims. She had allegedly collected funds for the 2002 riot victims and instead used it for personal luxury and expenses. The allegations had come to light after one of the residents of the Gulbarg Housing Society filed a complaint against her alleging that she had embezzled funds collected for the 2002 riot victims through her NGOs Sabrang Trust and Citizens for Justice and Peace.
It is alleged that she had used the funds collected in the name of riot victims for liquor, movies, gadgets and personal goods. Further, it was also found that her NGO has violated FCRA norms. The Sabrang Communications and Publishing Pvt Ltd had allegedly received Rs 2.9 lakhs from the Ford Foundation even if it was not registered under FCRA.
Setalvad has had several allegations against her including luring and misguiding a key witness into giving false testimony, FIRs for tweeting objectionable pictures of Hindu Gods and also FIRs for promoting enmity on religious grounds.
Love for ‘liberalism’ makes one blind to lies
As one can see, when people with ulterior motives add fictional elements to factual incidents, ‘liberals’ in India would believe it because they are conditioned to assume the worst about Hindus. Like when Kausar Bano died in 2002 riots (fact), when element of fiction is added that her pregnant belly was cut open with a sword and foetus flung into air, the lie refuses to die down despite post mortem reports stating otherwise.
That’s how ‘liberals’ operate. They add more brutal, more shocking lie which can shake the conscience of an average human being to one truth to perpetuate their hate. Quite certain Roy’s ‘friend from Baroda’ is as imaginary as the story narrated by that ‘friend’.
So when HW News Network’s ‘journalist’ claims Quran was burnt, without evidence, it is considered truth. Action against her on allegations of fabricating news is then referred to as attack on press freedom. Fictionalising ‘news’ is a free pass if you have ‘liberal’ credentials.
