Times of India, one of the leading publications of the country, which often indulges in propagating fake news, has yet again caught peddling half-truths regarding the suspension of 22-year old Meerut Law Student.
In a report, Times of India journalist Piyush Rai has resorted to false propaganda to target the BJP by reporting that the 22-year old Meerut Law College student was suspended after she refused to wear a BJP cap. He further claimed that the “inebriated” students who had allegedly molested Umam Khanam for ‘refusing to put on a BJP cap’ were also rusticated.
However, all the claims made by the Times of India journalist are whole lies. Journalist Swati Goel Sharma, who had visited the college which the students studied in, had talked to fellow classmates and college students only to find out that the two students were just suspended contrary to claim of Piyush Rai, where he reports that the two students have been rusticated.
In his attempt to push his ‘secular’ journalism, the reporter further alleged that 22-year girl, Umam Khanam was suspended by the College even after she was harassed by her inebriated classmates for refusing to put on a BJP cap during the college trip. The false accusations of Piyush Rai fall flat as most of the students along with the teachers who had accompanied them to the trip have categorically said that neither the students present in the bus were under the influence of the alcohol nor there were wearing any BJP caps.
Further, the College authorities had formed a committee to look into the complaints made by Umam Khanam. The college had even immediately suspended the two students who were accused of alleged harassment. However, even after a week of the incident, the committee could not hold a single meeting as neither the victim nor the accused or their parents have appeared before the committee for giving their statements. Hence, the college suspended the 22-year old student till further hearing.
According to a student from the college OpIndia.com spoke to, she has been suspended for allegedly levelling false allegations. “All the evidence was against her and she doesn’t have any proof,” said the source.
On April 2, Umam Khanam had started a controversy after she had alleged that she was harassed by fellow students for being a Muslim during a college trip. Umam Khanam, in a series of tweets, had also claimed ‘victimhood’ stating that certain students under the influence of alcohol had harassed her.
She had claimed that the fellow students were carrying BJP caps which they were forcing her to wear and consequently, she was harassed after she refused to wear those caps. She also suggested that her Muslim identity played a role as she was the only person from the community in the entire group. She further stated that the faculty had ignored the fact that students were harassing despite being present right at the scene.
However, the teachers who had accompanied the students to the trip had refuted all the accusations and had denied any such incidents during the trip as claimed by the 22-year old Law student Umam Khanam.
A ground report by journalist Swati Goel Sharma, Swarajya, had revealed further interesting details regarding the incident as nearly 35 students, who are also the classmates of the alleged victim Khanam had shared their side of the story backed by clear facts.
Many students also came forward to give their testimonies to Swarajya regarding how Umam is a “religious fanatic” who did this “to get into the good books of Shehla Rashid and Afra Khanum”. The students added that the 22-year old student had actually discriminated a few of them for their beliefs and said that Umam had a grave contempt towards the BJP.
Another student also said that Umam was a religious fanatic. He has said that how Umam was very conservative and orthodox, who had referred Dawood Ibrahim as India’s ‘baap‘ and wanted Modi to be lynched. One of her classmates also said that Umam had supported Sharia laws, cracked gau mutra jokes and went on calling everyone andh bhakts and Hindutva-types who disagrees with her.
In a hurry to target the ruling BJP and the Hindus, the Times of India journalist has now resorted to propaganda to paint a picture that some sort of harassment had occurred during the trip without even following basic journalistic ethics of reporting or at least hearing the other side of the story.
