On 23 July 2023, Subhashini Ali, a former Lok Sabha MP and CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, posted a picture of two men dressed in RSS attire, along with a screenshot from a viral video of the Manipur incident claiming that the men were the accused involved in the Manipur incident in which a mob paraded two women naked and allegedly gang-raped one of them.
She said “They are the Manipur accused. Recognise them by their clothes.”
They are the Manipur accused. Recognise them by their clothes. यह मणिपुर कर आरोपित हैं। इन्हें कपड़ो से पहचानो pic.twitter.com/ZyUgSVQUcZ
— Subhashini Ali (@SubhashiniAli) July 23, 2023
However, her claim was challenged by netizens who called it propaganda and pointed out that it was fake news. The two individuals in the picture are BJP State Vice-President Chidananda Singh and his son.
Subhashini Ali later apologized for the misinformation but did not correct or delete her initial tweet.
This is incorrect. Sincere apologies https://t.co/YRFaOVX4mU
— Subhashini Ali (@SubhashiniAli) July 23, 2023
The same image and claim were also shared by other social media accounts, supporting the Congress and Communists. One handle by the name of Shankar Kondaparthi on Twitter stated that these two individuals were the ones who led women naked in Manipur.
Incidentally, Student Union President of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Aishe Ghosh shared a drawing that implied RSS to be behind the tragic incident.
Let my country awake#ManipurViolence pic.twitter.com/l2tW6myqSx
— Aishe (ঐশী) (@aishe_ghosh) July 20, 2023
In response to the fake news being circulated, BJP State Vice-President Chidananda Singh took action and wrote a letter to the Manipur DGP, requesting legal measures be taken.
He clarified that the photo used in the fake news was edited and pasted with pictures of himself and his son wearing the RSS uniform. The original photo had been downloaded from his Facebook page.
Chidananda Singh mentioned the names of the groups and individuals who shared the false information and asked the DGP to take necessary actions against them. He emphasized that he and his family had no connection to the 4 May 2023 incident portrayed in the viral video.
He further expressed his intention to file defamation cases against those responsible for spreading the fake news on Twitter, maligning him, his family, and the RSS organization.
Later on, the Manipur Police confirmed on Twitter that they had registered a case at the Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS) based on Chidananda Singh’s complaint.
*FIR registered for spreading false news:*
On 23.07.2023, Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS), Manipur received a report from a functionary of a political party that a picture of him and his son collaged with a screenshot of the viral video of two women paraded,1/3
— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) July 23, 2023
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.