Muslim journalist falsely claims Hindu man molested Muslim woman though accused was actually a Muslim
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
24 February, 2025
Case Summary
A Muslim journalist named Karishma Aziz deliberately spread communal misinformation, falsely implying that a Muslim woman in Kanpur was molested by a Hindu man. Sharing a picture of a burqa-clad woman being harassed in broad daylight, she posted in Hindi on X, which roughly translates to: "The moment they saw a burqa, the hateful blind devotees showed their Asaram-like DNA. But the sister was alert too, so she rightfully rewarded the act!." The reference to Asaram in the statement is an allusion to Asaram Bapu, a self-proclaimed Hindu religious leader who was convicted of sexually assaulting a minor girl. However, X user Treeni fact-checked and debunked her misleading claim. Treeni shared the same image and clarified that the accused was actually a Muslim man named Adnan Abdul Masood, who had molested the woman in Kanpur's Bekanganj Market and was slapped 14 times by the victim. The post exposed the journalist’s blatant Hindu hatred. Interestingly, after being called out for spreading falsehoods driven by her bias against Hindus, Karishma Aziz deleted her misleading tweet. The incident happened in the Bekanganj Market in Kanpur, where the accused attempted to touch the woman inappropriately, sparking a heated altercation. In the video of the incident that went viral, the burqa-clad woman could be seen catching the man by his collar. In the next moments, the woman slaps the accused 14 times even as he asks the bystanders to intervene. The locals claimed that the man had been harassing women in the market regularly. The Kanpur Police also confirmed the incident, which took place on February 25. The police said that the accused was identified as Adnan, son of the late Abdul Mabood, a resident of the Bajaria police station area, further debunking the claim made by the Muslim journalist that the perpetrator was a Hindu. The police further claimed that the accused's family has claimed that his mental condition is not stable and he is undergoing treatment.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Anti-Hindu subversion and prejudice. Further, the tertiary categories selected are- Mislabelling/Misrepresentation of perpetrator's religion as Hindu and Anti-Hindu Fake News or Downplaying. 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. This case represents a deliberate attempt to distort facts in order to malign the Hindu community. By falsely attributing the crime of molestation to a Hindu man, despite the perpetrator being a Muslim, journalist Karishma Aziz engaged in communal misinformation with clear prejudicial intent. The act of mislabelling the perpetrator's religion serves a twofold purpose—first, to incite hatred against Hindus by fabricating a communal angle where none exists, and second, to shield the actual accused, thereby downplaying crimes committed by individuals from her own religious community. This aligns with a broader pattern seen in multiple instances where crimes committed by Muslims are falsely attributed to Hindus to construct a misleading narrative. Given these factors, the case has been added to the tracker under the aforementioned categories to document and expose the subversive strategies employed to target the Hindu community. It is important to mention here that the police claimed that the accused was mentally unstable and was undergoing treatment. Interestingly, in several cases, where perpetrators are Muslims, a usual trope to shield the perpetrator is to attribute the crime to the mental health of the accused, claiming that the crime was committed since the perpetrator was ‘mentally ill’ or ‘mentally unstable’. The police and the media, in many such cases, where the crime has been committed against the Hindu faith by a non-Hindu perpetrator, deny that the crime committed was in any way motivated by a religious bias and attribute it to the perpetrator’s mental health. Many a time the police downplay incidents of low-level communal crime because it is their jurisdiction that comes under question. The police also often say that the crime was committed since the accused was mentally unstable because they wish to ensure that owing to the crime already committed, there is no further flare-up in the area. In fact, there are many cases where this strategy has been used by the media to downplay such incidents where the crime was committed by a Muslim perpetrator, for example, the attack on the Gorakhnath temple or the incident in Telangana where two Muslim women wearing burqa tried to damage temple and church idols. Likewise, in this case too, when a Muslim minor was caught vandalising the Hindu idol, the police attributed the act to his mental illness. The use of the "mental illness" trope to justify crimes targeting Hindu temples or idols by Muslim perpetrators raises critical questions. If perpetrators are indeed mentally unstable, why do they specifically target Hindu idols and places of worship, leaving mosques untouched? This selective focus suggests that such acts are not driven by mental health issues but by religious animosity. The repeated use of this narrative to downplay crimes against Hindus reflects a strategic effort to whitewash religious hatred, obscuring the true motivations and intentions behind the attacks.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
female
Sources 
