Several videos and “claims” associated with them are making their way online from the violence-hit Nuh region of Haryana. The usual suspects notorious for shielding Islamists and downplaying the mayhem they cause during communal riots are active ever since violence erupted in Haryana when stones were pelted at the Jalabhishek Yatraat Hindus in the Muslim-majority Nuh area, famously called ‘mini-Pakistan’.
In accordance with the ideological imperative of Islamist appeasers who portray Hindus as oppressors and Muslims as oppressed people, “journalist” Puneet Kumar Singh, who runs the propaganda portal “Bolta Hindustan,” posted a tweet on Tuesday, 1st August, in which he shared a BBC ground report video and claimed that a Hindu man’s shop was vandalised by ‘Bhagwa Goons’ who mistook Vikas Garg’s shop as that of a Muslim.
“Mistaking it for a Muslim-owned shop, Hindu ‘Vikas Garg’ shop in Nuh was vandalised by saffron goons,” Puneet Kumar Singh tweeted adding lines from late poet Rahat Indori’s ‘sher’ insinuating that the riots were caused by Hindus who are now bearing the brunt of their own actions.
“Lagegi aag toh aayenge ghar kai zad mein, yahan pe sirf hamara makaan thodi hai,” Singh added.
In his now’-deleted tweet, ‘journalist’ Puneet Singh attached a BBC video report from Nuh wherein the said shop-owner Vikas Garg told BBC correspondent that his shop/ restaurant named ’24×7 Bakery & Cafe’ was vandalised on Monday (July 31st) after the riots erupted as the Yatra procession was passing.
As seen in the full video posted (archive) by the BBC, a visibly disheartened Vikas Garg narrated the sequence of events. “A riot erupted here yesterday when the Yatra was passing. After the riots subsided for some time, my shop was looted. I had locked my shop and left. My shop’s counter, glasses, LEDs, and seven fridges were damaged and there was around Rs 7.5 lakh cash kept inside the shop. As soon as I reached my home, some people destroyed the shop and stole the items. It all happened around 3:30 pm to 3:45 pm on Monday,” Vikas Garg said.
'उपद्रवी आए और सबकुछ तोड़कर चले गए'
— BBC News Hindi (@BBCHindi) August 1, 2023
हरियाणा के नूंह में सोमवार को दो गुटों में टकराव हुआ और ज़बरदस्त हिंसा हुई, उपद्रवियों ने कई घरों और दुकानों को भी निशाना बनाया.
देखिए यह रिपोर्ट.
वीडियोः अभिनव गोयल और मनीष जालुई pic.twitter.com/MwlGoVqRKC
He further lamented over working hard for years to build his restaurant which has now been destroyed and asked if anyone can compensate the losses he endured.
Contrary to the claims by ‘journalist’ Puneet Kumar Singh, the “Hindu” shop owner did not accuse any ‘saffron goons’ of vandalising and plundering his shop. In fact, his claim that the ‘Bhagwa goons’ mistook Vikas Garg’s shop as that of a Muslim is also fake as the board placed outside the shop clearly mentions the name of the shop owners as Vikas Garg and Sachin Garg. However, Puneet Kumar Singh found an opportunity to exploit a Hindu man’s plight to further his propaganda even at the expense of inciting violence.
The fake news peddler deleted his tweet after being called out by several Twitter users.
Shameless @puneetsinghlive who runs Congress funded Bolta Hindustan deleted his Tweet blaming Hindus for looting shop of Vikas Garg.
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) August 1, 2023
No apology to Hindus
Now when he knows that Muslims looted the shop, he didn't tweet and blame Muslims. Bcz Congress will stop his payment? pic.twitter.com/cVIXgPDm6j
Journalist Aditya Raj Kaul urged people in Gurugram not to pay heed to any fake news as shared the screenshot of Puneet Kumar Singh’s now-deleted tweet spreading lies against Hindus.
“People in #Gurugram shouldn’t believe fake news. Some tweets based on fake information are spreading panic in Haryana. Tweets have been deleted yet are being forwarded. Hope cops investigate the conspiracy to spread Mewat violence to Gurugram. Stay alert! Don’t panic!” Kaul tweeted.
People in #Gurugram shouldn’t believe fake news. Some tweets based on fake information are spreading panic in Haryana. Tweets have been deleted yet are being forwarded. Hope cops investigate the conspiracy to spread Mewat violence to Gurugram. Stay alert! Don’t panic! pic.twitter.com/PhyBH2sboF
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) August 1, 2023
After being called out by the people, Singh tweeted a ‘clarification’ at midnight wherein he claimed that he deleted the said tweet after ‘knowing’ about it. He further claimed that the video in question was sent to him by a ‘reliable journalistic source’, however, after learning the ‘truth’ he deleted the tweet spreading fake news.
“Clarification: Today I posted a tweet about Nuh, which was immediately deleted after I came to know about it. It was sent to me by a reliable journalistic source so I tweeted it but as a responsible citizen, I deleted it as soon as I came to know the truth,” Puneet Kumar Singh tweeted.
Clarification: Today I posted a tweet about Nuh, which was immediately deleted after I came to know about it.
— Puneet Kumar Singh (@puneetsinghlive) August 1, 2023
It was sent to me by a reliable journalistic source so I tweeted it but as a responsible citizen I deleted it as soon as I came to know the truth.
Instead of apologising for spreading fake news and inciting hatred against the Hindus especially those residing in the violence-torn Nuh region, Puneet Kumar Singh persisted in his shamelessness as evident in his other tweet where he claimed that journalists running fake news factories and extorting money are blaming him for the violence even when the ‘misinformed’ tweet was deleted. He went on to claim that lines taken from Rahat Indori’s quote he wrote in the contentious tweet did not incite violence rather people who see violence in it are the ones instigating violence.
फेक न्यूज़ की फैक्ट्री चलाने वाले, दलाली के साथ उगाही और वसूली करने वाले पत्रकार, एक गलत सूचना वाले ट्वीट को आधार बनाकर हमें हिंसा का जिम्मेदार बता रहे हैं- जबकि ट्वीट डिलीट कर दिया गया था और कैप्शन हिंसा के विरोध वाला लिखा गया था।
— Puneet Kumar Singh (@puneetsinghlive) August 1, 2023
राहत इंदौरी के शे'र में जिन्हें हिंसा दिखाई…
Even as ‘journalist’ Puneet Kumar Singh brazens it out, many people are demanding his arrest.
