Online Desk: As anger and outrage against the brutal rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar medical college in Kolkata grows, people aligned with the Hindutva ideology have started amplifying unverified claims about the involvement of Muslim men in the incident.
On 9 August, a 31-year-old doctor was raped and murdered in the wee hours at the state government-run medical college. The incident sparked massive protests in the city as well as in other parts of the country. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been eyeing to dislodge the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government in the state, has come down heavily against the state government.
Sanjay Roy, the prime accused in the case, has been arrested.
However, supporters of the BJP and its Hindutva ideology have falsely blamed some Muslims for the gruesome incident and accused the government of protecting them.
Madhu Purnima Kishwar, notorious for peddling misinformation and Islamophobia, put out five names claiming that they were guilty of rape and murder. At the same time, the one who was arrested had been “tricked into raping her dead body”. Four out of five names posted by Kishwar are those of Muslims.
Kishwar claimed on the X platform: “It is being ALLEGED that these five Geniuses could be the ones guilty of the barbaric rape & murder of M in the #RGKarCollege. They have reportedly been absconding since August 9. The names may explain why there is such a determined attempt to shield them and hang just ONE man who was tricked into raping her dead body!”
Apart from Kishwar, several other social media handles have blamed Muslim staff of the medical college for the incident. These handles are sharing photos, Facebook profiles and their names claiming that they are the real culprits.
A fact-check done by Alt News has exposed the false claim about Muslim doctor Arshean Alam. Based on CCTV footage and police statements, it was established that Alam was falsely accused of committing the crime. At the time of the commission of the crime, Alam was at his home while the rape and murder was committed at the RG Kar Medical College.