In Sandeshkhali, North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, several women have accused Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan and his associates of sexual assault. The Chief Justice bench of the Calcutta High Court has ordered the immediate arrest of Shahjahan Sheikh and to present him in court. In this case, the opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is actively protesting on the streets. Another case related to the Sandeshkhali incident has now taken a serious turn in the ongoing political controversy. Senior leader of the BJP, Suvendu Adhikari, is accused of labeling a Sikh IPS officer, Jaspreet Singh, as a ‘Khalistani’. In this matter, several leaders, including West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, have strongly reacted, although Suvendu has denied these allegations and asked for evidence against him. Meanwhile, a video has surfaced on social media during this period. According to the reference of this 18-second video from ‘News 18 Bangla,’ it is claimed that Sikh police officer Jaspreet Singh was referred to as a Khalistani. We have analyzed this viral video with the help of Hawk Eye.
Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair posted the video on X and wrote, Here’s the video of someone from the BJP group calling Khalistani to IPS officer Jaspreet Singh.
Here’s the video of someone from the BJP group calling Khalistani to IPS officer Jaspreet Singh. pic.twitter.com/xIvu7kj5YQ https://t.co/1e00IJeAgy
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) February 20, 2024
West Bengal Police posted this video on X and wrote, We, the West Bengal Police fraternity, are outraged to share this video, where one of our own officers was called ‘Khalistani’ by the state’s Leader of the Opposition. His ‘fault’: he is both a proud Sikh, and a capable police officer who was trying to enforce the law. This comment is as much malicious and racial as it is communally inciting. It is a criminal act. We unequivocally condemn the unprovoked, unacceptable attack on an individual’s religious identity and beliefs aimed to incite people to take to violence and break the law. Stern legal action is being initiated.
We, the West Bengal Police fraternity, are outraged to share this video, where one of our own officers was called ‘Khalistani’ by the state’s Leader of the Opposition. His ‘fault’: he is both a proud Sikh, and a capable police officer who was trying to enforce the law…(1/3)
— West Bengal Police (@WBPolice) February 20, 2024
Our Analysis
In our investigation, we observed that in the viral video from ‘News 18 Bangla,’ BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari is seen talking to another person. During this conversation, the distinct word ‘Khalistani’ can be heard amid the commotion, and there is also a gesture towards Suvendu Adhikari. Subsequently, we checked the YouTube channel of ‘News 18 Bangla.’ ‘News 18 Bangla’ had broadcasted the BJP’s protest live on YouTube. In the 5 hours and 33 minutes long video, the scenes from the viral video can be seen at the timestamp 1:15:34. During this segment, the anchor and the noise of the commotion from the BJP protest can be clearly heard, although there is no mention of the word ‘Khalistani’ anywhere.
After this we reached the Facebook page of News 18 Bangla. Here we got the full part of the viral video. In this video of 7 minutes 50 seconds, the word ‘Khalistani’ is clearly heard amidst the noise at 32 seconds. A callout also appears pointing towards Suvendu Adhikari.
Readers should note that the YouTube Live video and Facebook Live video of ‘News 18 Bangla’ have similar scenes. But in YouTube Live, thsound of anchor and protest is being heard, but in the midst of the noise on Facebook Live, the word ‘Khalistani’ is clearly heard.
In our investigation, we noticed that two parts have been added to the Facebook Live video of ‘News 18 Bangla’. In one part the word ‘Khalistani’ is heard and the callout appears. In the other part, BJP leaders are having an argument with the police officer. Actually this is not a live streaming video but the video has been edited and played live on Facebook. That is, it is a recorded live video. The Facebook page of ‘News 18 Bangla’ also confirms this.
Below, with the help of an application, an attempt has been made to understand the conversation of Suvendu Adhikari by removing noise from the viral video. But in this video only the word ‘Khalistani’ is understood. Now it is not likely that any camera or mike in the midst of this crowd would be able to capture only one word ‘Khalistani’ while no other voice is clear.
This is back to back published one and processed “noiseless” video.
— The Hawk Eye (@thehawkeyex) February 21, 2024
Now it is unlikely that the source of sound in the mid of a noisy crowd, not facing towards camera mic, captured specific words, while no other voices are clear.
4/ pic.twitter.com/JY5lTWbUkp
The same attempt was made with the help of another application but only the word ‘Khalistani’ can be understood from the viral video. How is it possible that only one word can be heard clearly from the crowd in the viral video?
Listen to this audio (further clean). Use 🎧
— The Hawk Eye (@thehawkeyex) February 21, 2024
All noise but some words like “…… Khalistani” captured distinctly? @News18India needs to clarify if they superimposed this audio for reconstruction purpose.
Btw is this voice & accent of @SuvenduWB ?
11/ pic.twitter.com/bnUrZ67Fdq
Conclusion: Our analysis shows that the word ‘Khalistani’ is nowhere in the live video on the YouTube channel of ‘News 18 Bangla’ whereas the word ‘Khalistani’ can be heard in the live video recorded on Facebook. The surprising thing is that in this video no word can be heard clearly before or after the word ‘Khalistani’. How did the camera-mic of ‘News 18 Bangla’ hear only the word ‘Khalistani’ amidst the huge noise? Also, even if ‘Khalistani’ was said then why was it not on YouTube Live?
Also Read: The Farmer Protest: A Cloaked Revival of the Khalistan Movement
