Fact Check: Muslims Did Not Demand the Release of Mandsaur Rape Accused A photograph showing Muslim men marching in support of the Mandsaur rape accused has been going around social media. However, while the march did indeed take place in Mandsaur, it was in support of the victim and against the accused. [image: Fact Check: Muslims Did Not Demand the Release of Mandsaur Rape Accused]
Protests held in New Delhi demanding swift punishment for rapists. Credit: PTI [image: Arjun Sidharth] Arjun Sidharth <https://thewire.in/author/arjun-sidharth> 424 interactions COMMUNALISM <https://thewire.in/category/communalism/all> POLITICS <https://thewire.in/category/politics/all>14 HOURS AGO *Alt News* has uncovered how the brutal rape of an eight-year old in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh in June 2018 is being given a brazenly communal spin on social media. Thousands of users are sharing a message, according to which members of the Muslim community rallied on the streets of Mandsaur demanding that the perpetrator of the crime be released because the *Quran* sanctions rape of non-Muslim women. The message has spread like wildfire on Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/search/str/%E0%A4%87%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%AB%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8%20%E0%A4%96%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B%20%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%BE%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8B/stories-keyword/stories-live?ref=top_filter> and Twitter <https://twitter.com/search?q=%E0%A5%98%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8%20%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%82%20%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%87%20%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%80%20%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%9C%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%82%20%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%87%20%E0%A4%AC%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%20%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%9B%2C%20%E0%A4%87%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%9E%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8%20%E0%A4%96%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B%20%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%BE%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8B&src=typd> . The message has been accompanied by a link to an article on a website *www.indiaflare.com* <https://www.indiaflare.com/2018/07/muslims-took-out-the-procession-and-demanded-release-of-irfan-khan..html?m=1>. The title of the article is *‘क़ुरान में दूसरे धर्म की लड़कियों से बलात्कार जायज़, इरफ़ान खान को रिहा करो’ (Rape of non-Muslim girls valid according to Quran, release Irfan Khan)* and is probably the source of this message which is circulating widely. In the article, there is a photograph which shows Muslim men marching on a street holding placards that say, ‘*इरफ़ान को रिहा करो’ (Release Irfan). *The article, published on July 1, has been shared over 16,000 times till now. The article is a compendium of falsehood. There are a number of claims and allegations which are outrightly untrue. *1. The picture is photoshopped* The photograph posted above which shows Muslim men marching in support of the accused is photoshopped. *Alt News* did a Google reverse image search and found that while the march did indeed take place in Mandsaur, it was in support of the victim and against the accused. The original photograph is posted below. Credit: Jansatta As can be seen, the text on the placard was tampered with. The original text says, *‘नहीं सहेंगे बेटी पर वार , बंद करो ये अत्याचार ‘ (Wont tolerate attacks on daughters, stop this brutality). *In the photoshopped image, this was deviously changed to ‘*इरफ़ान को रिहा करो’ (Release Irfan). *Not only the first placard, but also the text of the placard held by the person marching behind has been tampered with. *‘दरिंदे को फांसी दो ‘ (Hang the beast)* has been changed to *‘रिहा करो ‘ (release him)*. *2. Muslims have not taken out rally against the accused* The article goes on to claim that no Muslim has descended on the streets to ask for capital punishment for the accused, but have rallied in his favour, citing the *Quran*. It goes on to warn readers not to believe reports to the contrary which they may encounter on social media as they are untrue. This claim is totally false. *Firstpost* has reported <https://www.firstpost.com/india/mandsaur-rape-case-spurs-angry-protests-by-hindu-muslim-organisations-lawyers-refuse-to-represent-accused-4641781.html> that Muslim groups in the region have strongly condemned the incident and demanded harsh penalty for the accused. Some groups have demanded death penalty for the alleged perpetrator and appealed to not allow his body to be lowered in any graveyard in Mandsaur or Neemuch. *3. Congress leaders have defended the rape accused* The article further claims that Congress leaders have spoken out in defence of the accused. The website has also published an article <https://www.indiaflare.com/2018/07/congress-in-the-rescue-of-mandsaur-criminal-mohammad-irfan.html> which claims that Congress leader from MP Jyotiraditya Scindia has said the two accused in the case are innocent and that a CBI inquiry be conducted. This too is false. Scindia has tweeted a photograph of him attending a rally demanding capital punishment for the Mandsaur rape accused. View image on Twitter <https://twitter.com/JM_Scindia/status/1013677936807956480/photo/1> [image: View image on Twitter] <https://twitter.com/JM_Scindia/status/1013677936807956480/photo/1> <https://twitter.com/JM_Scindia> Jyotiraditya Scindia *✔*@JM_Scindia <https://twitter.com/JM_Scindia> <https://twitter.com/JM_Scindia/status/1013677936807956480> #मंदसौर <https://twitter.com/hashtag/%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8C%E0%A4%B0?src=hash> की बेटी के साथ हैवानियत झकझोरने वाली है। इस बर्बरतापूर्ण कृत्य की फाँसी के सिवाय कोई सज़ा हो ही नहीं सकती| सरकार की ज़िम्मेदारी बनती है की मामला फ़ास्ट ट्रैक कोर्ट में चलाये और 15 दिन के भीतर सज़ा हो ये सुनिश्चित करें|# JusticeForMandsaurGirl <https://twitter.com/hashtag/JusticeForMandsaurGirl?src=hash> 12:27 PM - Jul 2, 2018 <https://twitter.com/JM_Scindia/status/1013677936807956480> - 2,221 <https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=1013677936807956480> - 665 people are talking about this <https://twitter.com/JM_Scindia/status/1013677936807956480> Twitter Ads info and privacy <https://support.twitter.com/articles/20175256> *About the website Indiaflare* *Alt News* found that the website www.indiaflare.com was registered only last month, on June 22, 2018. Skimming through the website, one finds that it is full of dubious ‘news’ reports. Moreover, its Twitter account *@indiaflarecom* <https://twitter.com/IndiaFlareCom> too was created in June 2018 and so far, there have been less than ten tweets from this account. This article not only targets the Muslim community in the most reprehensible manner but seeks to exploit a heinous crime through the use of fake imagery and misinformation, drawing a false parallel with the Kathua rape case wherein some groups had led a protest march in support of the accused. *Alt News* has observed that a number of dubious websites have propped up in recent times which claim to be news portals. These websites post articles with sensationalist headlines and blatantly disseminate misinformation which is often communal in nature. Readers are advised to be circumspect with regard to these portals. *The article was originally published on Alt News. <https://www.altnews.in/viral-fake-news-of-march-by-muslims-demanding-release-of-mandsaur-rape-accused/>* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
