Deepal Trivedi, a former Ahmedabad Mirror editor with a long history of spreading fake news, took to Twitter on Sunday to insinuate that Gujaratis from India were responsible for the violence in Leicester, United Kingdom, in which Hindus were attacked by radical Islamists following an India-Pakistan Asia Cup match last month.
Deepal added, quoting another left-liberal columnist Vasundhara Srinate, who blamed Hindutva for the mayhem unleashed by Islamists in Leicester, that Leicester is dominated by Gujaratis and that this is expected of them.
Several Twitter users called out Deepal for her remarks and stated that she is spreading fake news. Quoting a Tweet by Leicester police, a user wrote, “Official statement of the local police authorities. Fake news busted.”
Following the replies by users, Deepal came to her defence and tried to change her stance. In a tweet quoting her earlier tweet, she wrote, “For all those who misinterpret or have missed out… i repeat: Leicester is full of #Gujaratis. Only fools can deny this. And these educated are so “blind” that they think #Gujaratis mean #Hindus only! @zafarsareshwala is one such Muslim who is a Proud Gujarati. So chill!
In another tweet, she went on to add that there is no difference between a Hindu and a Muslim Gujarati. She wrote, “When we talk of #Gujaratis, we talk of #Gujaratis as a community. Not as Hindu or Muslim. #GujaratiSamaj in #Leicester obviously has Hindus & Muslims both as members. Example: Asha Parekh is a Gujarati. We do not describe her as half Muslim. So stop twisting facts!”
Deepal Trivedi through her tweet first insinuated that the ruckus and mayhem unleashed in Leicester city was because of Gujaratis living in the town and then tried to change her stance by saying that it is both Hindus and Muslims of Gujarati origin who caused the violence. In all, she meant that the violence was because Gujaratis inhabited the locality.
Deepal Trivedi and her penchant for spreading fake news
Even so, Trivedi has a long history of peddling falsehoods and fake news. Ahead of 2017 Gujarat state elections, Trivedi was caught sharing morphed images of fake quotes by then BJP President Amit Shah on Patidar community. The atrocious statements put up by Deepal could have easily instigated disturbance within communities in a poll-bound state where rumours can easily take shape of violence.
When confronted about her malicious tweet, Trivedi had claimed that she tagged Hardik and Amit Shah to ‘clarify’ since the images appeared ‘dicey’. Similarly, in 2018, she was caught wishing death upon BJP leader Tajinder Bagga.
Then in 2020, Gujarat BJP president C R Paatil accused Trivedi of publishing a fabricated interview in Ahmedabad Mirror. Taking to Twitter, Paatil called out the fictional ‘interview’ where the tabloid’s Congress-friendly Editor herself had taken the byline. The interview claimed that in 2022 state elections, as per Paatil, BJP will win at least 175 out of 182 seats and that even 182 seats should not come as a surprise.
However, Trivedi brazened it out and defended the ‘interview’ by claiming that the said ‘interview’ took place on 1st September 2020 in Circuit House.
Islamist attack on Hindus in Leicester
Nonetheless, the latest remarks by Deepal follow after violence erupted in Leicester city following the defeat of Pakistan by India in the Asia Cup match on August 28. According to accounts, Muslims, primarily Pakistani Islamists, assaulted Hindus and their homes in the area. Several videos of the incident went viral a week after the incident.
The videos showed Hindus being assaulted in their cars while parked in their driveways, and Hindu families huddled in their houses, stunned, while massive groups wandered the street vandalising property. The majority of these incidents of violence and provocative religious sloganeering were reported in the city’s Belgrave region.
Yet another video of Pakistani Islamist organised gangs targeting Hindu houses in #Leicester, UK. What is the UK Government and Police doing about it? Shameful. Disgusting. Scary. Yet not surprising. pic.twitter.com/M0qaEmz3MY
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) September 6, 2022
After hundreds of people crowded the streets in the city’s eastern section, violence erupted again on September 17 afternoon in Leicester. Police officers swarmed the streets, exercising disposal powers and encouraging peace as disturbance persisted on the streets following a protest by Hindus against the violence by Islamists.
The protest was disrupted by Islamists as they hurled glass bottles at the protestors. A Saffron flag atop a temple was also desecrated by a mob of Islamists in front of the police. So far, a total of 27 people have been arrested in connection to the violence in Leicester that began last month.
