Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Ruby leads editorial, operations and initiatives at Newschecker. In her former avatar at New Delhi Television (NDTV), India’s leading national news network, she was a news anchor, supervising producer and senior output editor. Her over a decade-long career encompasses ground-breaking reportage from conflict zones and reporting on terror incidents, election campaigns, and gender issues. Ruby is an Emmy-nominated producer and has handled both local and international assignments, including the coverage of Arab Spring in 2011, the US Presidential elections in 2016, and ground reportage on the Kashmir issue since 2009.
A week after violence broke out in Haryana’s Nuh over a Jal Abhishek yatra by members of the Bajrang Dal, a YouTube news report is going viral on social media, where ‘locals’ interviewed by a social media based news channel are claiming that many women participants of the yatra were taken away into the fields and that they were raped. The men making the allegations point to abandoned and shredded clothes as proof of their allegations.
The “report” published by social media based news channel Leading Bharat TV (which has since been deleted), features a ground report on the Nuh violence, where the reporter is seen interviewing a few people, allegedly locals, who claim on record that women participants of the Jal Abhishek Yatra who took refuge in the Nalhar Shiv Temple were dragged away to the fields and raped. The camera also pans to show women’s attire strewn around.
Speaking to the camera, the reporter is heard saying, “The mob misbehaved with the women. They were dragged away to the fields. Here are some people standing on the road side…” He then takes interviews of the two men, one who identifies himself as Pavan says “Looks like they have done something wrong with the women. Their clothes were torn and some women are missing.”
The reporter continues to speak “Some women in this area are found to be missing. And the local residents are on the lookout for them. Here, just 300-400 metres from the temple, we found some clothes belonging to women.” The camera then pans to show the clothes that can be seen strewn around.
“Many people are saying that women and kids are missing from many families since July 3,” he adds. Another ‘local’ joins to say “Some of the women who came with the Bajrang Dal are missing. That’s why we are here to see what happened.”
Another person who identifies himself as Radheyshyam, who also claims to be a resident of Nuh, says “You can see clothes of women lying here in front of you. Where do you think women went abandoning their clothes? Something untoward has happened with them. It is evident that the clothes have been torn. Something really wrong has happened here. Look, even clothes belonging to children can be seen here.”
The original posts of the interview have since been deleted by Leading Bharat TV, but not before it went viral and was shared widely in other platforms, including Twitter. You can see archived version of such tweets here, here, here and here.
Also Read: Old Video From Bangladesh Resurfaces As Haryana Violence
Fact check/Verification
Newschecker began our search by conducting a keyword search for the terms ‘Haryana violence’ and ‘Women raped’ and we found several reports that quoted the ADGP of Haryana Police, Mamta Singh, clarifying that the news is fake.
Cops Rubbish Rumours: No Rape Or Missing Complaints
Speaking to news agency ANI, Mamta Singh on August 5, 2023, said, “A narrative is going on social media since yesterday that the day the devotees were stuck at Nalhar Mandir, gruesome crimes like rape occurred with a few women devotees there during this. I would like to tell you that this is false, a complete rumour.”
She further added, “I am saying this officially as I was present there during the entire incident. Nothing like that happened with any woman. We have already cleared that what actually happened there…Strict action will be taken against such rumour-mongers.”
News organisations like the NDTV, Outlook, Times of India, were among the many that carried the clarification by the ADGP.
Newschecler further reached out to Mamta Singh, ADGP Law & Order, who confirmed yet again that no such rapes had taken place. “There has been no rape. The claims of women’s clothing found near temple is also untrue. I make 2-3 daily visits to the temple. I have not seen any such abandoned clothes near the temple. Moreover, no rape or missing persons complaint has been registered so far. We are looking for the locals who appeared on camera alleging instances of rape. We will take action against those spreading misinformation.”
No rape or missing persons complaint has been registered so far. We are looking for the locals who appeared on camera alleging instances of rape.
Mamta Singh, ADGP Law & Order
She further added, “This is parallel to what happened in the Murthal arson. Though there were claims of rapes, the SIT that probed the case, of which I was a part of, found that there was no evidence of rape. The CD evidence carrying the account of the alleged rape victim’s mother was found to have been fabricated. We proved every narrative to be false. This follows the same template.”
“Reports of Rape Is Nonsense,” Confirms Bajrang Dal Leader
Speaking to Newschecker, local Bajrang Dal leader Bittu Bajrangi said that there were no reports of missing women. “Women of all age groups participated in large numbers in the yatra. There were aged mothers, young married women, teenagers, young toddlers. But no one was dragged away or raped. We had mobs misbehaving with the women. They cornered women and harassed them verbally… unhe bandar banaya (they were surrounded)… One of our young brothers Abhishek was killed in the attempt to safeguard some of our women. But no one’s clothes were torn, nor were they dragged away to the fields.”
No one is missing as of yet and no one was raped
Bittu Bajrangi, Bajrang Dal Leader
When pointedly asked about the reports on social media, Bittu called them bakwaas (nonsense). “No one is missing as of yet and no one was raped,” he confirmed again.
Newschecker has reached out to the social media channel called Bharat Leading TV which aired the video and sought any possible evidence that could indicate that women were abducted and raped during violence. This article will be updated when we receive a response.
Also Read: Unrelated Video Of Muharram Procession In West Bengal Goes Viral As Haryana
Conclusion
Thus the claims made by locals in a YouTube news report, where they alleged rape and abduction of Hindu women who participated in the Jal Abhishek Yatra in Nuh, were found to be false.
Result: False
Sources
Report on ANI, dated August 5, 2023
Report on NDTV, dated August 5, 2023
Report on Outlook, dated August 5, 2023
Report on Times of India, dated August 5, 2023
Interview with Mamta Singh, ADGP Law & Order, Haryana
Interview with Bittu Bajrangi, Bajrang Dal, Haryana
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Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Ruby leads editorial, operations and initiatives at Newschecker. In her former avatar at New Delhi Television (NDTV), India’s leading national news network, she was a news anchor, supervising producer and senior output editor. Her over a decade-long career encompasses ground-breaking reportage from conflict zones and reporting on terror incidents, election campaigns, and gender issues. Ruby is an Emmy-nominated producer and has handled both local and international assignments, including the coverage of Arab Spring in 2011, the US Presidential elections in 2016, and ground reportage on the Kashmir issue since 2009.
