In a letter to the Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, India’s civil rights network, National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has said that there a deliberate attempt to communalize the murder of two-and-a half-year old girl six days ago by some goons in Aligarh, which “has shaken us all.”
Calling it as “one of the heinous crimes of humanity”, the NAPM statement says, “What is also unfortunate is that some right-wing groups are giving it a communal colour by spreading fake news. Despite Aligarh Police’s continuous campaign to counter the false news, some people are continuing to communalise the painful incident by spreading messages full of hatred through social media.”
“The attempt”, the statement underscores, “Is to generate anger against the Muslim community because the culprit happens to come from this community and the victim is a Hindu girl. We believe that apart from punishing the culprits for their crime, it is also the responsibility of the police to stop attempts to fan communal sentiments.”
It adds, “Messages on social media containing hatred as well as news from major media houses spreading false messages must be tracked and brought down. Till today, messages are being posted on social media with false information. This undercurrent if not dealt with on time may erupt communal violence.”
The statement, whose copy has been sent to the Superintendent of Police, Aligarh, and District Magistrate and Collector, Aligarh, has been signed by Medha Patkar, Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, Shankar Singh, Dr Binayak Sen, Prafulla Samantara, among others.
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