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Newslaundry Calls 72-Yr-Old Islamist Rapist A ‘Boy’, Labels Rape Of Minor Hindu Girl An ‘Affair’—Offers Token Apology After Backlash

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newslaundry islamist rapist minor hindu girl rape

The left-leaning media outlet Newslaundry has once again come under fire for allegedly promoting a misleading narrative—this time drawing outrage for seemingly downplaying the rape of a minor by framing it as a consensual affair, reportedly because the accused belongs to the Muslim community.  However, after attracting severe slipper shots from netizens and the public, Newslaundry retracted its stance, made the video private on YouTube, and issued a token apology. The platform’s Editor-in-Chief, Raman Kirpal, had previously referred to the tragic rape incident as a “small” affair, which he later acknowledged was a factual error.

On 4 May 2025, Newslaundry issued a baseless apology on its official X account, stating, “Apology Regarding Statement on the Nainital Incident.  We want to issue a sincere apology regarding how our Editor-in-Chief, Raman Kirpal, described the recent incident in Nainital involving the sexual assault of a minor. In our earlier video, our editor wrongly described the incident as “small” and referred to it as “an affair.” This was a factual error. We deeply regret it. As editors, we should have had full knowledge of what had happened before commenting on the matter. The responsibility to verify and be cautious with our words rests squarely with us. We take full responsibility for this lapse. We have since re-uploaded the video after removing the inaccurate sentence. We stand by the need for sensitive and factual journalism, especially in situations where misinformation and communal tensions can cause real harm.”

Newslaundry Launders Child Rape Case As ‘Affair’

On 3 May 2025, during Episode 535 of its Hafta podcast, Newslaundry was accused of intentionally framing the rape of a minor in Nainital as a communal issue, instead of treating it as a grave criminal act.

During the discussion, panellist Raman Kirpal reportedly referred to the case involving a 75-year-old Muslim man, Muhammad Usman, accused of raping a 12-year-old Hindu girl, as an incident being framed communally due to an alleged “affair” between a Muslim male and a Hindu female. Kirpal described the situation as one in which Muslims were being unfairly targeted, claiming that tensions in Nainital escalated after the supposed affair came to light. He referred to the unrest as a “small incident” and said that Muslim-owned shops were attacked and shut down as a result.

Speaking in the podcast, Kirpal stated, “In Nainital yesterday, one boy had an affair, or some problem, with a girl. They started beating the Muslims. They shut down those shops, very prominent shops in Nainital. They beat them up, and today the entire place is closed. They are going against the Muslims.” Co-hosts Abhinandan Sekhri and Manisha Pande did not object to this framing during the episode.

These comments have triggered widespread public backlash, with critics arguing that the incident— a serious case of child sexual abuse—was irresponsibly downplayed and misrepresented as a communal matter. Many have accused the media outlet of disregarding the emotional trauma of the victim and failing to acknowledge the legal gravity of the offense. In response to the growing criticism, the podcast episode has now been made private.

The token apology issued by the pro-Congress, left-leaning media outlet was not well-received, with netizens demanding not just a written apology, but one delivered through a podcast video. Some of the responses below.

One netizen stated, “Very convenient to tweet an apology later. The whole panel should apologize in the next episode and publish that video clip here.”

Another netizen called out the media’s hypocrisy and stated, ” It matters what you launder, #newslaundry. Apology is good but if this is the mindset of the Editor-in-Chief…”

Another critic slammed the journalist’s mentality, saying, “Your editor in chief has to have pedophilia kind perverse mentality to even think like that. Who else is so mentally sick in your offices?? Is it Pedophilia club?”

Another netizen said, “Odd days bootlicking Opposition narrative and funding, even days generalising Pedophilia as Press Freedom debate”

Another netizen called out the journalists stating, “@AbhinandanSekhr what a shameless pig you are man. Pathetic! @MnshaP  you call yourself a woman? The dishonesty in the discourse which the left steers is beyond redemption, they have reached the point of no return. The most soulless and hollow set of people.”

https://twitter.com/iwasiamiwillbe_/status/1919101413004574838

Another netizens criticized saying, “A 12 year old girl was raped by a 72 year old & well heeled Muslim in Nainital. Instead of standing with the poor victim, you guys started her character assassination. Do you have any idea what the POCSO Act is all about?”

Another netizen called for the media ban on the news channel stating, “You should be banned for trying to normalise Pedophilia & rape ,@NCWIndia this New Laundy conveyed that its okay that a 72 years old Muslim man raped a 12 years old Minor Hindu girl, as the victim is Muslim, so you said that it was an affair between a Muslim boy & a Hindu girl, they made the rape case as affair and told that the 72 years old man is a boy.”

Another netizen said, “Wonderful tactics of white colloured criminals supporting monster Jihadi. First whitewash the crimes and than submit the apology after misleading the whole world.”

https://twitter.com/harish_purohit/status/1919093519110521189

Tragic Nainatal Incident

According to the Nainital police, the incident occurred on 12 April when the minor girl went to a nearby market. She was reportedly lured by the accused with money and taken to his residence, where he allegedly raped her in a garage and threatened her not to tell anyone. The girl’s behavior changed following the assault—she became withdrawn and eventually stopped attending school, prompting concern from her family. On 30 April, after disclosing the assault to her mother, a formal police complaint was filed. Muhammad Usman was subsequently arrested and charged under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the POCSO Act.

The portrayal of this serious case as merely an “interfaith affair” has been condemned as irresponsible journalism. Observers argue that such framing diverts attention from the core issue—sexual violence against a minor—and instead introduces communal overtones that distort public understanding and downplay the victim’s suffering.

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