By NEWS CLICK
Policemen and eyewitnesses debunk
journalist's claim that refugees wanted to kill them.
On March 13, 2018, three journalists—Republic TV’s
Tejinder Singh Sodhi and India News’ reporter Ajay Jandyal and video journalist
Gaurav—were beaten up by a group of unidentified men in Narwal, Jammu. The
issue gained momentum after a video from JK Update, a local media outlet,
showed two boys assaulting the journalists and RTI activist Rohit Chaudhary.
Republic reporter fought with local Gujjar boys & blamed Rohingyas: https://youtu.be/qXnwwa4nclM
Tejinder Singh Sodhi even claimed that the refugees were
in a mood to kill.
The two attackers were arrested after Sodhi and the
others filed a first information report (FIR). Cops have now been deployed at
the sprawling makeshift refugee settlement in Narwal.
To fact-check the whole incident, Newsclick visited the
settlement and found it to be very quiet. Most people were hesitant to talk to
strangers, especially media persons, fearing repercussions. But following is
what NewsClick discovered on the ground.
Republic TV and threat to national security
Sodhi used the video footage to claim that Rohingyas were
behind the attack. He accused the refugees of attacking him with rods and
snatching his gold chain and wristwatch. He calls the Rohingyas the “biggest
security threat to the people and the ones who are trying to curtail the
freedom of reporters by attacking them”.
When contacted by Newsclick, Sodhi said, “We were at the
Rohingyas’ settlement to report about the illegal procurement of mobile SIM
cards. At least, 100-150 Rohingyas, including their landlords, suddenly
gathered there and threatened us with murder. They hit us with rod and sticks.
One of them hit me on the head with an iron rod. They are the biggest security
threat to the people.”
“The police are trying to shield Rohingyas as they have
political pressure. I don’t know anyone by face. Let them (the cops)
investigate and decide,” he said.
Police trash the allegation
The Jammu police, who arrested two local Muslim boys for
the violence, categorically stated that they were not Rohingyas. “We have
apprehended two local boys – Sher Mohammad and Mohammad Ashraf,” Jammu’s Senior
Superintendent of Police Vivek Gupta told Newsclick. “We are yet to know the
real reason for the attack. We don’t know whether this was part of a plan or
there was some other reason.” Investigation is underway, Gupta said.
Series of events that led to the incident
A 20-year-old woman outside her makeshift tin shanty in
Narwal stood up hesitantly as she saw policemen come towards her. In a flinch,
she pulled her child to herself and exchanged glances with her sister. She had
been talking about a ruckus that took place at Burma market on March 13. “Local
Gujjars attacked them (the TV news reporters). We are not at all involved. They
are taking our names to trouble us,” she told Newsclick.
The Burma market emanates the putrid smell of dry fish
and fear in the hearts of the refugees. “I was present when the incident
happened. The scuffle was over a traffic jam. The journalist wearing a turban
had his car parked in the middle of the road, blocking the way. Two local
Gujjar boys were passing through the area with their family in a transport
vehicle. They asked him (Sodhi) to move his vehicle. The journalist blatantly
ignored them and continued with his work. When asked further, he abused the
boys and that is how it started,” said Mohammad Shine Shofi, an eyewitness.
Shofi said the media is unnecessarily portraying the
refugees as goons. “They are in fact persecuted people and have no involvement
in the local law and order problem. With their wrong portrayal, the refugees
now fear for their lives,” he added.
Another eyewitness alleged that the journalist slapped
one of the boys first. Later, the two boys retaliated and Sodhi’s cameraperson
recorded the assault.
Manisha Bi
The boys live in Burma market. Mansha Bi, the mother of
one of the boys, also blamed the journalist for triggering the incident. “I was
in the kitchen, when I heard a lot of noise and went out to see what had
happened,” she said. “My son was honking and asking the journalist with a
turban to move his car. But he did not listen and began abusing my son instead.
When my son asked him not to abuse, the journalist slapped him. When they were
attacking my son, they kept the camera switched off. When my son retaliated,
they started capturing video. I came in between and asked both of them to stop
(A lady can be seen in the video trying to stop the fight).”
Watch: Busted: Republic Reporter Wrong in Blaming Rohingyas for
Assaulting Him: https://youtu.be/rBoDYiIStvQ
Later the police came to her place and arrested the two
boys, she said. There were no iron rods and no Rohingya was involved. “I feel
bad that they are trying to implicate them for no reason,” she said.
An officer on patrol, who did not wish to be named, said,
“No Rohingya was involved. The fight was over a traffic jam and it was not even
a big issue. But now, it has turned into something big and we are deployed here
to prevent any possible untoward incident.”
Another cop also said, “I know them (the Rohingyas) for
three years. They have not done anything.”
Fear underlines the lives of Rohingyas since they have
been uprooted from Myanmar. Right wing groups such as the Hindu Ekta Manch are
spearheading a campaign to defame the refugees and press the government to
evict them from the country. Recently, the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and
Industry put out advertisements calling for the ouster of Rohingya Muslims from
different refugee camps in the city. The advertisements – on the front page of
local newspapers – read, “Rohingyas: a ticking time bomb. Evict them to save
Jammu” and “Threat of Rohingyas looms large over the heads of peace loving
Jammuites. Let’s save Jammu”.
Advocate Ankur Sharma, who is a leader of the Manch,
alleged that the Kashmir-based party (the PDP) is trying to change the
demography of Hindu-majority Jammu by allowing Muslims to settle here in large
numbers.
Rohingyas waged a war against their own government and,
therefore, they were punished. We demand the government that they must be
thrown out from here as they are a threat to national security,” he earlier
told this website.
Other political parties have held demonstrations and put
hoardings demanding their eviction. “Few television channels and media houses
are coming up with fabricated stories because of which locals have started
fearing them. Since the advertisements and demonstrations, our children are not
allowed to study at the local government school. If they don’t study, how our
community will flourish,” a 25-year-old young man living in a refugee camp told
Newsclick.
“We are not terrorists. Please, stop branding us like
that. We want to return to our homeland. We want to go back as we have our
houses there. We don’t want to live like a refugee. We will go back as soon as
normalcy returns,” he added.
Fake News and Media
Over a period of time fake news has become the new norm
for mainstream media. In a race to attract audience and to break stories first,
media networks, especially TV channels, have started circulating agenda-driven
fake stories. But we can’t miss the organized pattern in which fake news are
being circulated. They are mostly anti-minorities (Dalits and Muslims).
The prime time panel noise where the anchor and his
favorite party speak is one of the most visible patterns of this trend, and
it’s quite a threat. It has the power to change the opinion of a given set of
people. In the post-truth world, the seed of hatred is being planted by a few
TV channels. The blunder by Republic TV journalist Tejinder Singh Sodhi is one
of the many examples that cannot be overlooked since such lopsided coverage
shape public opinion and could leave an entire community feeling vulnerable.