On 9th June, an X handle “ThaSikhs” published an audio clip claiming it was a conversation between a soldier who was stationed at the Chandigarh Airport and a journalist explaining what happened on the day when Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kangana Ranaut was assaulted by now-suspended CISF personnel Kulwinder Kaur.
In the post, the social media handle claimed that Ranaut refused to put her phone and purse on the tray during security check and called the security personnel a “Khalistani”.
So here’s the story behind the slap.
— Tracking Hate Against Sikhs (@thaSikhs) June 9, 2024
Kulwinder Kaur had requested @KanganaTeam to put her phone and purse through a security check.
Arrogant Kangana Ranaut not only refused to follow security guidelines but also called Kulwinder a ‘Khalistani.’
The Mohali airport falls under… pic.twitter.com/5k0zufmIMU
In the audio, the person who claimed to be a soldier stationed at the airport said that he had never seen Kulwinder angry during duty hours and she was stationed there much before he joined the duty. He further claimed that it was Kangana Ranaut’s fault as she refused to put her phone and purse on the tray during the security check. He also claimed that Kangana referred to Kulwinder Kaur as “Khalistani” after learning her name from the nameplate.
The photograph is that of a BSF jawan who was martyred in 2019
But the claims made by the handle ThaSikhs do not add up. The photograph of the ‘soldier’ used on the audio clip is of BSF Jawan Vijay Bhan Singh who sacrificed his life after Bangladeshi troops open fire at the border in West Bengal in 2019. The fact about the photograph was pointed out by an X handle Arya Anviksa.
— Head constable Vijay Bhan Singh became a martyr on duty in October 2019.
— Āryā_Anvikṣā 🪷 (@Arya_Anviksha_) June 9, 2024
— But According to extremists like @/thaSikhs, "martyred BSF" gave the interviews to a journalist in June 2024 and told that "Kulwinder Kaur is innocent"
Why are no fact-checkers checking the tweets of… pic.twitter.com/PmK5r0H3d2
Upon research, OpIndia found several articles with information of death of BSF soldier and his photograph that can be checked here, here and here.
The narrative that Kangana refused to give her phone and purse at security check was started from a report by Hindustan Times where the newspaper quoted an unnamed source who claimed Kangana was slapped after she refused to go through proper security check.
So far, there is no proof that Kangana refused to give her phone and purse for the security check but the narrative that begun with a source-based report by HT is being peddled relentlessly.
Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, who is known for putting a target on Hindu women, also peddled the unconfirmed narrative. Zubair’s post was based on HT report itself.
Next, OpIndia tried to find the source of the audio clip that was shared by ThaSikhs. We found that a fake news peddler YouTube channel that pose as an Online News Channel, Punjabi Sewak TV, had published the audio clip two days ago.
Interestingly, the image on the thumbnail and on the video were different. The thumbnail image is that of Col Santhosh Babu who was martyred in the Galwan clash with PLA troops in May 2020 at the Aksai Chin region.
OpIndia found many dubious videos on the channel that has over 35,000 subscribers. In one of the video, the reporter claimed to be talking to an employee at Chandigarh Airport who narrated the same story that Kangana was at fault and not Kulwinder Kaur.
Interestingly, the photograph used in this video was of an employee of Lufthansa Airlines from Delhi Airport. The photograph was picked from a news report from May 2024. Moreover, the image used for the anchor in the video is a Pakistani news anchor who went viral in 2018 for fighting with his colleague on air. It raises further doubts on the authenticity of the videos shared by Punjabi Sewak TV.
It is evident that the source of the video that ThaSikhs shared on social media has a history of sharing fake and unverifyable videos and by using photographs of a dead soldier and Pakistani anchor, the channel can be safely called a fake news peddler.
CISF said Kulwinder Kaur was not stationed at checking point where she slapped Kangana Ranaut
CISF DIG Vinay Kajla said that Kulwinder was not supposed to be at the spot where the incident took place. She was deployed in the frisking zone and Kangana Ranaut was passing through an adjacent area when the incident happened. He said, “Kulwinder was not supposed to be there and came to know about the MP’s presence only after a Punjab Police cop informed her. The incident took place outside a cubicle. We have a digital footprint of every happening inside the airport”.
Vinay Kajla, Deputy Inspector General of CISF, has exposed the false propaganda against Kangana Ranaut in the Kulwinder Kaur incident. It was clearly pre-planned. Hear him out 👇🏻#KanganaRanaut #KulwinderKaur pic.twitter.com/JLbiMmp7mD
— Rahul Chauhan (@RahulCh9290) June 8, 2024
“The CISF is reviewing the protocol related to the personnel here”, Kajla added.
It is clear that Kulwinder Kaur not only assaulted a newly elected MP while in uniform but also violated her sworn duty of protecting citizens, only to make a political statement.
OpIndia tried to contact Kangana Ranaut on this issue. Her staff has informed that at present the MP has no statements to add in the matter.
