Days after the death of Mohammad Fazil, a resident of Mangaluru in Karnataka, right-wing propaganda website OpIndia claimed that the murder was due to a love affair involving a Shia-Sunni communal angle. However, this claim is absolutely false as all six accused arrested for the murder belong to the Hindu community.
Fazil died just two days after the murder of BJP Yuva Morcha Leader Praveen Nettaru. Rather, there is suspicion by the police that Fazil was killed to avenge the death of Nettaru.
Police commissioner N Shashi Kumar said the six people came together with the aim of “killing someone” at the earliest and planned Mohammed Fazil’s murder for three days. When asked if Fazil was hacked to death on July 28 in retaliation to Nettaru’s killing, Kumar said further interrogation was required to ascertain that.
Meanwhile, several Twitteratis, including AltNews founder Mohammed Zubair exposed the right-wing propaganda website for spreading fake news.
Propaganda Facts pic.twitter.com/foFbmMF2Cd
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) August 2, 2022
Zubair also went on to say that NDTV did not fall prey to OpIndia’s demands to portray the case from a Shia-Sunni love affair angle. Rather NDTV showed saffron-clad men raising slogans calling out justice for Nettaru.
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) August 2, 2022
Mangaluru city police crack the Mohammed Fazil murder case and arrested six persons. The accused are identified as Mohan Singh (26), Srinivas Katipalla (23), Giridhar (23), Deekshith (21), Abhishek, and Suhas Shetty (29).
#Karnataka #Mangaluru city police crack #MohammedFazil murder case and arrest six persons.
Mohan Singh 26, Srinivas Katipalla 23, Giridhar 23, Deekshith 21, Abhishek and Suhas Shetty, 29.@IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/PqTnYW5sHu— Kiran Parashar (@KiranParashar21) August 2, 2022
Some netizens even joked, questioning OpIndia’s editor Nupur J. Sharma if Shias and Sunnis had such names! The accused have a criminal record, with previous cases registered against them.
OpIndia of which Nupur J Sharma is the editor-in-chief claims a suspected Shia-Sunni love affair led to the murder of Md Fazil in Surathkal. According to police, the accused are Suhas, Mohan, Giridhar, Abhishek, Deekshith and Srinivas. Never knew Shias and Sunnis had such names!
— Gautham Machaiah (@GauthamMachaiah) August 2, 2022
“The six people did not know each other, but they came to know each through common friends. Suhas called his friend Abhishek and had a long discussion… They decided to gather more people and weapons for the same,” said Police Commissioner Kumar.
The preliminary investigation found that the accused were planning to kill Fazil since July 26. The accused had a list of about seven but finally decided to kill Fazil after keeping a close watch on him.
“…Fazil was chosen as the target. … Why he was selected in particular is still to be probed,” the police said. On Sunday, the police also arrested Ajith Crasta (34), the owner of the car used for the crime.
Verdict:
The claims by OpIndia and other right-wing media that Mohammad Fazil was killed due to a Shia-Sunni love affair are baseless.
**Jooth Bole Kawa Kate**
References: Hindustan Times, twitter
Featured Image Source: Siasat
