On April 23, a Twitter user AminaaKausar claimed that actor Hrithik Roshan donated Rs 1 Lakh for the rehabilitation of Muslim settlements in Khargone, Jahangirpuri, and other locations via a Ketto fundraiser started by controversial NGO Miles2Smiles. In her tweet, she posted a few screenshots, out of which one had the name Hrithik Roshan as the top donor.
Several Twitter users raised questions over the name. A Twitter user Abeyyarsun questioned if she was sure it was the actor himself, to which Amina said she had confirmed before posting.
Many Twitter users raised questions if that was the actor or someone using his name.
One of the users who raised objections was The Hawk Eye. He dug up further to the claims and said, “For funds collection, some kiddish tactics also used like actor Hrithik Roshan donated 1L, however, there is no such entry. The top two donors with 1L are anonymous (well-wisher). The handle with 30K followers went one step ahead & “yes, I confirmed it” when someone raised suspicion.
For funds collection some kiddish tactics also used like actor Hrithik Roshan donated 1L, however there is No such entry. Top two donors with 1L are anonymous (well wisher). The handle with 30K followers went one step ahead & “yes I confirmed it” when someone raised suspicion.
— The Hawk Eye (@thehawkeyex) April 24, 2022
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OpIndia’s investigation
We checked the fundraiser to get more information if Roshan had donated or not. In the list of top donors, the name Hrithik Roshan does not appear.
There are some fan accounts that claimed that they had asked the PR agencies, and they denied that Hrithik Roshan made any such donation.
Another important aspect of Ketto is you can put any name while registering the account or making the donation and it will show that name. It does not matter if it matches your real name or the name on the card or account that you have used. It makes the whole claim even more suspicious.
Notably, celebrities have donated to a fundraiser on Ketto before. To refresh memory, actress Anushka Sharma and cricketer Viral Kohli had raised 11 crores on Ketto last year. They had donated 2 cr themselves for the cause. Many social media users, therefore, raised suspicions as to why an actor of Hrithik’s stature would donate a paltry amount for the fundraiser. If the person was indeed Hrithik, why the name was changed (in case the screenshot by Amina was real)? There are many questions that need answers.
It is notable that Hrithik Roshan had joined hands with several NGOs in the past and spoke openly about it. In 2020 he helped Akshay Patra to provide 1.2 lakh meals for daily wage workers and senior citizens.
In case he had donated, there would have been some buzz around. The NGO that ran the fundraiser did not say or post any screenshots on their own or verify the claims made by Amina. Though the questions are being raised, Amina’s tweet is still there on Twitter.
We tried contacting Hrithik Roshan’s manager but could not verify if the actor had indeed donated to the said fundraiser. This is a developing story, and we will update when more information is available, or his manager or PR agency clarifies their stand on the matter.
The fundraiser for Muslim victims by Miles2Smile
A fundraising campaign was started to help the ‘victims’ of anti-encroachment drives across the country. Various state governments, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and the New Delhi Municipal Corporation authorities in the national capital, had razed down building belonging to encroachers, following which a campaign has been launched, apparently with the aim of helping the ‘victims’ of the anti-encroachment drive. Mohammed Zubair, the co-founder of the alleged ‘fact-checking’ website Alt News, put out a tweet to support the fundraiser.
Several other left-liberal ‘journalists’ also shared the links of the alleged fundraiser asking people to fund Muslim ‘victims’. They shared the links to fundraising events started by the Miles2Smile Foundation. The organisation had raised funds for the alleged victims and had previously raised funds for illegal Rohingya Muslim immigrants settling in the country. The Miles2Smiles Foundation claims to be an organisation that provides relief and rehabilitation to distressed individuals or groups and educational upliftment of the marginalised and underprivileged.
According to Aasif Mujtaba, the founder of the Miles2Smiles Foundation, the organisation had set up a learning centre at a Rohingya camp at Nuh in Haryana. The organisation had raised funds for the construction work for the Rohingya Refugees at Nuh in Haryana and had also built housing units, he had claimed on Twitter in January this year.
