Media downplays rape of minor Hindu child by a Muslim man; justifies the heinous crime as 'affair' and 'small incident'
India 
2 May, 2025
Case Summary
The Nainital Police arrested Muhammad Usman, a 76-year-old contractor, for the rape of a 12-year-old Hindu girl. The minor had informed her family about the incident, following which they approached the police and lodged a formal complaint. The authorities registered a case against Usman under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Following the incident, Newslaundry downplayed and justified the incident as an affair and a small incident. Newslaundry released the 535th episode of its podcast series Hafta, coinciding with World Press Freedom Day and discussions on the Pahalgam attack. During the programme, panellist Raman Kirpal referred to the rape case in Nainital and characterised it misleadingly as an affair between a Muslim boy and a Hindu girl. Kirpal described the incident as small incident and portrayed the situation as one where Muslims were being unfairly targeted by Hindus in the aftermath. He remarked that Muslims had been beaten and their shops shut down, and described the overall situation as escalating tensions against the Muslim community in Nainital. His co-panellists, Abhinandan Sekhri and Manisha Pande, voiced agreement with his remarks. Following growing outrage across social media platforms, Newslaundry made the original video private. The platform subsequently issued an apology, as did its editor-in-chief, Raman Kirpal. In his statement on X, Kirpal expressed deep regret over his characterisation of the incident, stating that he had made an inadvertent error and that, as a journalist and editor, it had been his duty to be fully informed before speaking. Newslaundry, in its apology, acknowledged that the editor had wrongly described the case and admitted that the platform had failed in its responsibility to maintain factual and sensitive coverage. The statement also noted that the video had been re-uploaded with the inaccurate sentence removed. A similar note of apology was added to the re-uploaded video. Newslaundry concluded by accepting responsibility for the lapse and reiterated the importance of accurate and responsible journalism, particularly in contexts involving communal sensitivity and potential misinformation.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Hate Speech against Hindus. The sub-category selected is- Anti Hindu subversion and prejudice, and within it, the tertiary category selected is- 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 stands out as a hate crime because a old Muslim man raped a 12-year-old Hindu minor girl, but instead of reporting the seriousness of the crime, Newslaundry, known for its far leftist ideology, downplayed it by calling it an “affair.” It may be noted that both the victim's family and the police attested that the minor Hindu girl was raped, yet, Newslaundry went ahead to downplay the heinous crime. This selective reporting distorted the reality of the events and fostered a skewed narrative. Instead of holding the perpetrator accountable, the coverage painted the Muslim community as victims of communal tensions, which made the Hindu community look like the aggressors. When the media misrepresents or minimises crimes like this, it can lead to more prejudice and even hatred against Hindus. It makes people less likely to empathise with victims and can create a false narrative that justifies hostility towards an entire community. That’s why cases like this are tracked in hate crime databases-not just because of the crime itself, but because of the way public perception is shaped by biased reporting. Disclaimer: This incident is linked to a previously documented case already included in the undecided database, the link of which is provided below, where the focus was on the crime. However, in this update, the emphasis is on the hate speech delivered by the media house, which is being recorded as a separate but related incident to highlight the multiple layers of religiously motivated hate involved.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
