Fake new peddlers share false report, claim 5 Hindus raped half-cremated body in Sikar, delete tweets after Police debunk lies
Sikar, Rajasthan, India 
18 April, 2023
Case Summary
A number of bogus news peddlers, purported Muslim journalists, and media outlets stated on April 30, 2023 that Sikar Police of Rajasthan had detained five Hindus for the crime of raping a woman's half-cremated body. Twitter user Mohammed Hussain quoted Lallanpost media and wrote, “An incident that can embarrass humanity has come to light from Sikar, Rajasthan, where five monsters took out a dead body from a burning pyre and raped it...In the evening Shankar Lal, Babu Lal, Raju Kumar, Deepak and Hari Singh took out the burning body and raped it. Shankar Lal is a school teacher in the village.” Ashok Swain, similarly, wrote, “While Indian media spreading fake news about the locked grave in Pakistan to keep rapists away, in Sikar, India, five Hindus have been caught for raping the dead body of a woman by taking it out of a burning pyre.” Notably, several of those disseminating the false information emphasised the names of the accused "Hindus." Most of the tweets were based on an Asianet News report from April 19, 2023 where the media house claimed the incident took place in the Ajitgarh Police Station area. However, Sikar police categorically refuted the claims of raping the dead body. On May 1, tagging Asianet News Sikar Police wrote, “The said incident is false and misleading. Three days after the cremation of the dead body, the villagers thrashed an outsider on suspicion. The man came to meet his acquaintance. Legal action has been taken by the police at Ajitgarh Police Station." Meer Faisal, Sadaf Afreen, Md Asif Khan, Lallanpost and others deleted their tweets after their baseless tweets were debunked. Netizens demanded action against the fake news peddlers. Twitter user Sunil Khatik wrote, “How hateful! Will Sikar Police take action against those who spread fake news about rape of a dead body? Many people have deleted the tweets.”
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case falls under the category of Hate Speech Against Hindus, specifically under the sub-category Anti-Hindu Subversion and Prejudice and the tertiary category Anti-Hindu Fake News, as it demonstrates clear intent to incite animosity against Hindus through fabricated allegations. Hate speech is defined as any speech, gesture, conduct, writing, or display that is prejudicial against a specific individual and/or group of people, which is leading to or may lead to violence, prejudicial action or hate against that individual and/or group. Media plays a specific and overarching reach in perpetuating prejudicial attitudes towards a community owing to unfair, untrue coverage and/or misrepresentation/misinterpretation, selective coverage and/or omission of facts of/pertaining to issues affecting a specific religious group. This type of bias can dehumanise the victim group, making it easier for others to justify harmful actions against them, which aligns with the objectives of hate speech laws aimed at preventing such harm. It is often observed that the media takes a prejudicial stand against the Hindu community driven by their need to shield the aggressor community which happens to be a numeric minority, however, is the one perpetrating violence against Hindus. For example, the media is often quick to contextualise religiously motivated crimes against Hindus, omit or misrepresent facts that point towards religiously motivated hate crimes, justify and/or downplay religiously motivated hate crimes or simply present fake news to stereotype Hindus. Such media bias leads to the denial of persecution and is often used to dehumanise Hindus, leading to justification for violence against them. For example, the media covered several fake allegations of Hindus targeting Muslims and forcing them to chant Jai Shree Ram. Most of these cases were proved false and fabricated after police investigation. These fake news reports were subsequently never retracted or clarified. Such fake news led to the justification of violence and dehumanisation of Hindus based on the argument that since Hindus targeted Muslims and forced them to chant Jai Shree Ram, the dehumanisation of Hindus and violence against them was par for the course and merely a retaliation. Such media bias leads to prejudicial portrayal of Hindus and offers a justification for violence against them and therefore, is considered hate speech under this category. The false claims of five Hindu men raping a half-cremated body, deliberately highlighting their Hindu identities, were disseminated by purported Muslim journalists and media outlets without verification. The aim of such propaganda is to malign Hindus, using a shocking and gruesome falsehood to provoke outrage and reinforce negative perceptions of their religion. The choice to label the perpetrators as Hindus, despite the complete lack of evidence to support the claim, highlights an underlying intent to portray Hindus as inherently violent or immoral. Such actions are motivated by a deep-seated animosity towards Hindus, reflecting broader patterns of religious subversion and prejudice and this is why this case qualifies to be added to the tracker. It is important to mention here that while the exact number of individuals involved in spreading this fake news remains uncertain, the focus is on those named in the report, as their actions are verifiable and demonstrative of anti-Hindu prejudice. Accordingly, the perpetrator's number has been updated.
Victim Details
Total Victim
5
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 5
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 5
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 5
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
