On May 20, police arrested 23-year-old Arbaaz Khan and Sameer Sonawane. While Khan is the mastermind of the violence the ‘godfather’ behind the violence was at large. Khan played a crucial role in spreading the violence in the city by making viral a selective, edited Instagram chat with Sonwane. Akola SP Sandeep Ghuge confirmed that the violence began and revolved around a controversial Instagram chat. The violence escalated in the entire city only after the controversial chat was made viral by Arbaaz Khan and he brainwashed a Muslim mob to go on a rampage against Hindus amidst chants of “Gustakh-e-Rasool ki ek hi saza, sar tan se juda”.
The incident was reported on May 13 when Islamists went on a rampage in the Old City police station area in the Akola district of Maharashtra. According to the police, stones were pelted and vehicles were damaged. One person, identified as Vilas Gaikwad, was reportedly brought dead to the Civil Hospital after the clash and eight others including two policemen were reported injured.
The Police booked 150 for the violence and had already arrested more than 100 persons in the case. However, the police nabbed the mastermind, Arbaaz Khan on Saturday and is still on the lookout for the ‘godfather’ behind the violence.
While the videos of the Muslim mob changing ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ were viral on the internet, Left media, Islamists and journalists who identify themselves as Muslims had already started spreading fake news and blaming Hindus for the Islamist rampage.
The first to do that was Leftist propaganda portal, The Wire, which is owned and run by US-citizen Siddharth Varadarajan.
How The Wire blamed Hindus for the Akola violence and the death of a Hindu man in that violence
On May 15, The Wire published a report on Akola violence that erupted on May 13. The violence was clearly initiated by the Muslim mob as videos of the mob chanting murderous slogans like Sar tan Se Juda were already viral. Here is one such video. Interestingly, this or any of the other videos where Muslim mobs were chanting for blood did not make it to The Wire report.
As a result of the violence unleashed by the Islamists, one person, identified as Vilas Gaikwad, lost his life and several were injured.
While all evidence even by the 15th pointed towards an Islamist mob going on a rampage, in its report, The Wire projected as if a Hindu mob was behind the death of Vilas.
In its report, The Wire claimed that Gaikwad was an auto-rickshaw driver who belonged to the Dalit community. He had “KGN” written on his auto which stands for Khwaja Gharib Nawaz aka Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti. Quoting an unnamed eyewitness, The Wire claimed that Vilas repeatedly told the mob he was not Muslim but they were not convinced.
However, there were several discrepancies in The Wire’s report. First of all, Vilas was not an auto-rickshaw driver but an electrician. He was in the profession for over 20 years. As per the Indian Express report, Vilas was the sole breadwinner of the family who worked as an electrician. On a fateful day, he was unaware of the violence and went out to repair an electric appliance in a nearby locality.
On the way back home, he was attacked by the mob with stones and a pipe. He was rushed to the hospital where Vilas was declared brought dead. Speaking to Times Now, eyewitnesses said a Muslim mob passed through their area and while returning, they pelted stones and damaged vehicles. They also pointed out several people were injured in the attack.
His family came to know about his death from the reports. Initially, Vilas’s family thought he was only injured and getting treated in the government hospital. Vilas is survived by his wife and three children who live in a 10×10 square feet room at Bhagat Singh Nagar. Police initially believed Gaikwad was part of the mob but later said he was attacked while returning home.
In a statement, inspector Sewanand Wankhade of Old City police station said, “He was unaware of the violence and while he was returning home, a group allegedly attacked him.” Other media outlets like Hindustan Times, Organiser, and The News Minutes etc. also identified Vilas as an electrician.
It is pertinent to note that in their report, The Wire had cited unnamed sources to claim that Gaikwad was an autorickshaw driver who begged a “Hindu mob” trying to convince them that he was not a Muslim. There is absolutely no evidence to support this. They flat-out seem to have lied about the entire incident they mentioned in their report given that he was not an autorickshaw driver at all (but an electrician). Therefore, it is safe to assume that there was no auto, there was no sign that supported Moinuddin Chisty Dargah and since the police have clarified that he was killed during the stone pelting by the Islamist mob, he did not beg the Hindus trying to convince them of his Hindu identity either.
The Wire’s lies did not stop there. The Wire claimed that the violence had erupted because one Karan Sahu had posted something on Instagram that insulted the Prophet of Islam. Further, The Wire ensured to tag this individual as a member of “radical right wing” group so as to blame the Hindus for violence that was committed by a Muslim mob – attested even by videos that had gone viral before The Wire published their report.
The Wire blamed a Hindu youth leader and social media influencer Karan Sahu for publishing the alleged objectionable post against the Prophet. However, the police revealed in the statement that the account was fake and they were looking for the person who created the account. Later, the police found out that Sonawane was the one who created the Instagram page. To make it look real, Khan and Sonawane hurled abuses at each other. The account in question shared two numbers, one of police constable Raj Giri and the other of Karan Sahu. An investigation officer said, “In the whole conversation, both of them were just abusing and instigating each other. And when the complainant demanded his number, the anonymous account holder shared two numbers, which later appeared to be of police constable Raj Giri and another of a police informer, Karan Sahu.” Speaking to Indian Express, Giri said he was unaware of the intentions behind sharing his number. Despite the Karan Sahu angle fell flat, The Wire did not clarify that Sahu was not involved in causing violence.
Interestingly, further in The Wire report, they almost slyly admit that the violence was started by the Islamists. They mention some humbug about a Muslim man, who was a part of the mob, claiming that this mythical post was discussed after Namaz and that they were “Told” that Muslims would be targetted. They were also harbouring “hurt sentiments”.
After this, The Wire admits that the Muslim mob chanted slogans, however, deliberately leave out what those slogans were. While the videos of the Muslim mob baying for blood were already viral, The Wire chooses to not add to what the Muslim mob was chanting to ensure that they can be painted as a victim. In fact, The Wire admits that it was after the sloganeering that stone pelting started, admitting that it was the Muslim mob that initiated the stone pelting, however, keep it vague enough so the readers can assume by the general tone of their article that it was the Hindus who perhaps started the violence.
In the following paragraph of their report, they again tacitly admit that it was the Muslim mob which started the violence, however, keep it open-ended enough to confuse the readers.
In this paragraph, The Wire admits that “Hindus were informed of the stone pelting at the police station”, thereby admitting that it was not the Hindus who were pelting stones at the police station and that the violence was initiated by the Muslims. However, with their fantastical stories of how Gaikwad was killed and their stories about a member of a “radical right-wing Hindu organisation” posting something offensive, they ensure that the readers would blame the Hindus for the violence which was committed by Muslims. With the news of the mastermind being arrested emerging now, it becomes more than evident that The Wire was spreading fake news to shield Islamists and blame the victims – the Hindus.
Interestingly (but not surprisingly), even after the truth emerged in the public forum, The Wire has not bothered to amend its article or do a follow-up report to ensure that the truth is reported.
Here is an archived version of The Wire’s report as of 22nd May at 3:55 PM.
Statement by Akola Police ignored by The Wire
On May 20, five days after The Wire’s report, Akola Police issued a press release where they said that two main accused of the violence were arrested. It also provided details of the FIRs registered over the alleged objectionable post and against those who were involved in the violence. Furthermore, Police categorically said that members of the Muslim community gathered and conspired to indulge in violence in Hariharpeth, Pola Chowk, and other locations in the city. They pelted stones at the houses of Hindus and damaged public and private properties. They also attacked members of the Hindu community and police personnel. One person in the Hariharpeth area died during the violence. However, The Wire neither updated its report blaming Hindus nor published any update based on the police investigation.
OpIndia checked the Akola District and Sessions court documents and found that a person named Nadeem Ahmed has filed for bail in the matter linked to FIR 150/2023. The court will hear the matter on May 23.
The conspiracy behind the violence – what really happened
During the investigation, the police found that the complainant and one other member of the Muslim community chatted with each other and created fake screenshots. They broadcasted messages in social media groups linked to the Muslim community and called the Muslim community members to gather, which resulted in violence. First, a complaint was filed in the matter and then a mob came out on the street.
According to reports, police arrested 23-year-old Arbaaz Khan and Sameer Sonawane on May 20. While Khan is believed to be the mastermind of the violence the ‘godfather’ behind the violence was at large. Khan played a crucial role in spreading the violence in the city. Akola SP Sandeep Ghuge confirmed that the violence began and revolved around a controversial Instagram chat. The violence escalated in the entire city only after the controversial chat went viral.
The police stated that the Instagram account in question was in extended communication with the complainant and they hurled abuses and communal remarks at each other. Arbaaz Khan shared edited and selective screenshots of these conversations among the Muslim groups. In a statement, Superintendent of Akola Police Sandip Ghuge said, “We have written to Instagram seeking details on the account holder. We have also sought help from our cyber teams and are trying to find its IP address.” The account was deleted soon after the chat with the complainant ended.
Police said that 23-year-old Arbaaz Khan initiated the controversial chat. Then more people gathered in the vicinity of the police station making the chat viral. The same mob incited more people to commit violence in different parts of the city. Reports suggest that Sonawane created an Instagram page with the name ‘The Kerala Story’. Accused Arbaaz happened to notice the page and initiated a chat with the page. The conversation soon turned into an argument with the duo using objectionable words. Later, some controversial part of that chat was edited selectively, highlighted and made viral in his community by Arbaaz which led to the violence.
Slogans of Sar Tan Se Juda
Following Arbaaz Khan initiating a chat with the page praising The Kerala Story, instigating him (Sonawane) and making selective screenshots viral in Muslim groups, a violent crowd gathered at the police station and raised Sar Tan Se Juda slogans.
It is pertinent to remember that several individuals were murdered recently for allegedly insulting Islam. Kanhaiya Lal was merely beheaded for supporting Nupur Sharma after similar chants were raised by Muslim mobs across the country. Umesh Kohle had also met the same fate for extending support to Nupur Sharma.