Amidst the ongoing tension in Manipur between Meitei and the Kuki communities, which began in May, a troubling pattern occurred in which misleading information was disseminated on the internet. These instances included the dissemination of information about a Myanmar girl being shot and falsely attributing it to the Manipur violence, as well as the dissemination of an old video of a church burning in France with the false claim that Hindus were responsible for setting fire to a Manipur church. These instances of fake news only aggravated an already fragile situation. Unfortunately, disinformation about the Manipur violence has persisted. Tanvir, a pro-Islamic propagandist on the platform X, recently shared a disturbing video (Archived link) of a gang rape. Tanvir while sharing the video claimed that the video in from Manipur. He wrote, “Reportedly a video from #Manipur where a Christian girl was kidnapped. A few Hindu men can be seen ripping off her clothes as she screams for help.” He further adds, “The Hindu men telecast this on SM as she was being gangraped by them. The Hindus in Manipur have regime’s support.”
Besides, the other handle Luv Dutta (Archived link) also shared the same video of gang rape and wrote, “Shame on CM of Manipur and GOI. Everyday the girls of Manipur are either being molested or raped, but the shameless Govt is blindfolded. India is a part of Manipur too Mr Modi. We can’t see this happening to our mothers & sisters everyday.”
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In the initial stages of our investigation, we extracted keyframes from the video and subsequently conducted a Google reverse image search. This reverse image search led us to several media reports that contradicted the claim associating the event with Manipur and implicating Hindus. Our fact-checking team, confirmed that the video in question actually originated from an incident that unfolded in Bengaluru, Karnataka, in 2021, devoid of any connection to the ongoing unrest in Manipur.
According to a report by The Indian Express, dated May 2021, the distressing video of gang rape showing the physical and sexual abuse of a woman garnered significant attention and generated outrage on social media platforms. Subsequently, the Assam Police, through Twitter, addressed the incident and even offered a reward for information leading to the identification and apprehension of the culprits. As per the Assam Police, the group responsible for the crime had filmed and circulated the video among their acquaintances in Assam and various regions of the Northeast.
Upon tracing the source of the phone number from which the video was disseminated, the Assam Police expeditiously alerted their counterparts in Bengaluru. Specialized investigative teams were rapidly assembled, and within a matter of hours, the group responsible for the crime was apprehended. The official police statement revealed that the victim had been trafficked to India by a certain Mohammed Babu, a resident of Dhubri in Assam.
The incident transpired in Ramamurthy Nagar, located in eastern Bengaluru, during the first week of May 2021. According to a report by The Times of India, the case fell under the jurisdiction of the Whitefield Police, who successfully tracked down six of the accused. Subsequently, the remaining five accused were apprehended by the Ramamurthy Nagar Police.
The police arrested a total of 12 Bangladeshi nationals, which included three women, in connection with the assault and rape of the 22-year-old victim. As per the report, the accused were identified as Shobuj Sheik, Rafiq, Ridoy Babu, Rakibul Islam Sagar, Mohammed Babu Shaik, Hakil, Ajim, Jamal, Dalim, Nasrath, Kajal, and Tanya. Notably, Ridoy Babu was a prominent TikToker from Bangladesh and was involved in human trafficking. Babu, alongside Rafiq and Shobuj, would lure women from Bangladesh to India under the pretext of job opportunities, subsequently coercing them into prostitution. The report further revealed that Rafiq and Shobuj held resentment towards the survivor of the gangrape, as she had defected from their group and aided other women in escaping the racket. Their assault on her was driven by a desire for revenge.
In accordance with another report by The Times of India, dated May 2022, out of the 12 accused who were arrested, eleven were convicted, while one turned approver. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) also became involved in the gang rape case, given its relevance to human trafficking. The city court sentenced seven of the accused to life imprisonment, with one woman accused receiving a 20-year sentence, and another accused serving five years. Additionally, two other individuals were sentenced to nine months in connection with the case.
Apart from that, the report by News Bangla 24, stated that the kingpin of a trafficking racket operating between Bangladesh and India Ashraful Mondal alias Boss Rafi and Abdur Rahman confessed to their guilt in the case of the brutal torture of a young Bangladeshi woman in India and gave a statement under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The court then ordered them to be sent to prison.
| Claim | A few Hindu men raped a Christian woman in Manipur |
| Claimed by | Twitter users |
| Fact Check | False |
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