On Monday (July 4), a piece of news about the stabbing of a 38-year-old Muslim man named Samiullah began doing the rounds of the internet.
The story was tweeted by several handles with Muslim names with the hashtag #JusticeForSamiullah. It was alleged that the man was a resident of the Chitradurga district of Karnataka and stabbed by a 22-year-old Hindu man named Nutan Gowda.
It was also claimed that the accused was a member of the Sangh Parivar and that the stabbing incident was a hate crime. “He is not the first victim and won’t be the last. As long as BJP (is) in power, Sanghparivar members lynching Muslims with impunity becomes the norm under BJP government,” wrote one Mohammed Shoaib.
Tipu Sultan Party President, Shaikh Sadeque, claimed that the lynching of Muslims is somehow increasing every day in the absence of a law.
“Karnataka Police is not showing any interest to take action against the accused. Will no action be taken against those who oppress Muslims”, wrote one Khan.
One Sana claimed that a bloodthirsty attacker from the majority community (Hindu) attacked Samiullah for the virtue of being a Muslim. The Twitter user also cast aspersion on the integrity of the police and said that no action was taken against the attacker.
The Truth behind the stabbing incident
The Chitradurga district police had debunked the ‘communal angle’ theory even before #JusticeForSamiullah began trending on Twitter.
In a statement, the cops informed, “On 02nd July 2022, a boy by the name Nuthan(22) stabbed Samiulla at Alur village, Hiriyur Tq, Chitradurga Dist,
Injured Samiulla is being treated at Basaveshwara Medical college & hospital (in) Chitradurga and he is out of danger.”
“Police have arrested Nuthan and he is being questioned. Investigation is on,” the police stated.
Police have arrested Nuthan and he is being questioned. Investigation is on.. @DgpKarnataka @alokkumar6994 @igperdvg @ParashuramaKal1 pic.twitter.com/pf75VlZHj7
— Chitradurga District Police (@DistrictPolice1) July 3, 2022
Additional Director General of Police( Law & Order) Alok Kumar clarified that there was no communal angle and that the incident was the fallout of a minor altercation between the victim and the accused.
“Wrongdoers will not go unpunished. Unconfirmed information should not be circulated,” he emphasised.
Chitradurga Police has already apprehended the accused Nutan Gowda. As per initial interrogation this incident resulted due to minor altercation between them last evening.
— alok kumar (@alokkumar6994) July 3, 2022
Wrong doers will not go unpunished.
Unconfirmed informations should not be circulated. https://t.co/6RYGznSqIQ
For the sake of disseminating real facts of the case, the Karnataka State Police published a fact-check on their website. It stated, “Upon verification, it is found that the incident has happened due to personal enmity between two individuals and there is no communal angle as such.”
The police further added, “The public is advised not to circulate such unverified/suspicious & misleading information on Social media platforms.”
Allgeations about police laxity in arresting ‘Hindu’ Nutuan Gowda and his crime being motivated by religion, as alleged by Muslim handles, turned out to be false and misleading.
