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Aftab, Mohammed Attack Interfaith Couple, Allegedly Rape Woman; TNM Follows Pattern Of Whitewashing Perpetrators

January 12, 2024
The Commune

In a disturbing incident of moral policing, an interfaith couple faced a violent attack by a group of six men in a hotel room in Karnataka’s Haveri district. The assailants, a group of six Muslim men, forcibly entered the room where a Hindu man and a Muslim woman were staying, subjecting them to verbal abuse and physical assault, and recording the entire incident. The attack, which occurred on 7 January 2024, prompted widespread outrage after the video went viral on social media.

The footage captured the assailants knocking on the hotel room door, and assaulting and verbally abusing the couple upon entry. The woman, attempting to shield herself with a burqa, was slapped to the ground by one of the attackers. The attackers continued to verbally abuse the couple, dragging them out of the hotel room despite pleas for mercy.

Subsequent videos revealed the woman being forced outside by the attackers, who lifted her hijab and filmed her. Following the assault in the hotel, the attackers allegedly took the woman to another location, where she claimed to have been gang-raped by seven men. The woman reported being abandoned near a bus stop after the assault.

The couple filed a complaint at the Hanagal police station, leading to the arrest of three out of the six attackers identified as Aftab Maqbool Ahmed Chandankatti (24), Samaiullah Lalanavar (23), and Mohammed Isaaq Mandakki (23). Authorities are actively searching for the remaining accused.

In a recent development, a video surfaced where the woman, not initially mentioned in the complaint, asserted that she had been gang-raped during the abduction. She alleged that the assault took place in a jungle at three different locations and involved seven men. Haveri Superintendent of Police, Anshu Kumar, stated that the rape charge emerged later through media reports, and an investigation is ongoing.

Police confirmed that the accused, although not affiliated with any organization, had a previous record in a similar case. The 26-year-old Muslim woman and her Hindu partner were reportedly in a consensual relationship, and the assault occurred shortly after they checked into the hotel on 7 January 2024.

The accused men are facing charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including assault, criminal intimidation, intentional insult, rioting, unlawful assembly, house trespass, and causing hurt. 

How TNM Downplayed The Perpetrators Identity

True to their principles, The News Minute shielded the identity of the perpetrators. In their report on the above incident, the article was titled “Karnataka: Three men barge into Haveri hotel and assault interfaith couple, woman alleges rape”.

However, if the alleged perpetrators turn out to be Hindus or “upper caste” and if the victim happens to be a Dalit or Muslim, they never fail to specifically highlight it in their headlines. Here is one example – “Mob shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ thrashes Muslim man seen with Hindu girl in Mumbai”

Here are a few more instances where TNM has consistently depicted a particular community as victims, even when the actual victim was often someone else, frequently a Hindu.

Instance 1 – Shraddha Walkar Butchering Case 

2022 was rocked by the horrific butchering of Shraddha Walkar by her partner, Aftab Ameen Poonawalla. We all know what happened in that case. As the details unfolded, TNM, in its usual approach, refrained from disclosing the perpetrator’s name, seemingly to depersonalize the gruesome incident. Editor-in-Chief of the portal, Dhanya Rajendran, shared an Indian Express article titled “A toxic and abusive relationship that ended in death” on her Twitter handle and she wrote the following caption, “Shraddha continued their relationship as Aaftab emotionally blackmailed her and said he would die by suicide if she leaves him. The level of entitlement such men have”.

Instance 2 – Giving Communal Colour To Petty Fight

The News Minute reportedly fueled communal tensions by sensationalizing a minor altercation between college students in Dakshin Kannada. The article titled “Dakshina Kannada: Muslim man beaten up for speaking to Hindu woman classmate”  highlighted an alleged attack on Mohammed Saneef without mentioning stalking or harassment, framing it as a “love-related case.” The report indirectly associated the assailants with a Hindu rights organization, lacking direct evidence. 

Instance 3 – Justifying Crime Because Perpetrator Felt Disrespected

In March 2023, The News Minute portrayed a disturbing incident during Holi celebrations in Telangana with bias. Initially justifying Mohammad Shabbir’s act of setting Anjaiah on fire after a playful color smearing, TNM faced backlash on social media for seemingly blaming the Hindu victim. Following criticism, they modified the article without offering an apology.

The headline used by The News Minute (TNM) read: “Upset at being smeared with color, a man allegedly sets friend ablaze in Telangana.” In doing so, TNM appeared to defend the perpetrator right from the start, suggesting that the victim was at fault for smearing colour on Muhammed Shabbir during the Holi festival.

Instance 4 – Shifts Blame On Victim Again, Calls People “Hindu Mob”

In a May 2023 incident in Telangana, an altercation between a gas delivery agent, Lingam, and Imran Ahmed escalated after Imran’s family refused to return an empty cylinder. The situation turned violent, with Imran assaulting Lingam. Subsequent clashes involving Hindu groups were framed by media, including The News Minute, as a “Hindu mob” attacking Imran, downplaying Imran’s instigation.

Instance 5 – Udupi Video Scandal

The Udupi video recording horror where 3 female Muslim students video recorded their Hindu classmates in the washroom of the institution secretly. There are reports of this happening for over a year – read more here and here. The News Minute as mentioned above played the he said-she said card and reported the horrendous incident as a “prank” and whitewashed the whole issue to make the perpetrators look like victims especially because of last year’s Hijab controversy in the region. 

Instance 6 – Justifying Alleged Land Grab By Waqf Board

In September 2022, TNM published an article where it attempted to establish that the village of Thiruchendurai belonged to the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board, rather than the rightful landowners. According to the report, the Waqf Board sent a letter to the Registration Department with documents claiming ownership of the entire village and requesting a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for any land registration in the area.

As the news created controversy, the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board decided to “temporarily allow” property-related transactions in the Tiruchendurai village. The TNM article quoted the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board Chairman, Abdul Rahman, who asserted that their records show the Waqf Board owns 389.03 acres of land in Thiruchendurai.

TNM further corroborated the Waqf Board’s claims by stating, “TNM also verified the Gazette Notification number 570 to confirm that the land had been registered as Waqf property on June 27, 1956.”

Instance 7 – Denying The Existence Of Love Jihad 

At the time of the release of the film, The Kerala Story, TNM published articles attempting to counter the narrative, focusing on communal harmony stories but was accused of brushing aside the reality of “Love Jihad.” The article failed to engage in a meaningful discussion about the well-documented issue of using love for proselytizing by Jihadists. TNM’s response appeared to divert attention from Love Jihad, a serious concern in areas like Malappuram, known for historical events leading to demographic changes and reported instances of forced conversions.

You can read more on these whitewashing habits of The News Minute also referred to as The Naxal Minute or TN Murasoli here.

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