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HomePlugged InPrimeTimeRepublic TV, News18, Zee News see many conspiracies in Hathras gang-rape case

Republic TV, News18, Zee News see many conspiracies in Hathras gang-rape case

A quick take on what prime time TV news talked about.

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New Delhi: Prime time Monday was dominated by the death of a Dalit woman in Hathras after she was allegedy gang-raped, as well as the conduct of the Uttar Pradesh police and government, subsequently. But TV news just can’t let go of its favourite story, either: India Today‘s Rahul Kanwal led news channels in interviewing Mumbai Police Chief Parambir Singh about the investigation into actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, while CNN-News18 spoke to actor Rhea Chakraborty’s lawyer.

First, to Hathras. On NDTV 24×7, anchor Sreenivasan Jain explained how the “conduct of the Yogi Adityanath government and the UP Police in particular seems to be slipping in a worsening cycle.” Jain recounted how the police burnt the Dalit woman’s body in the middle of the night without her family’s consent or presence. He then reminded viewers about how the media was prevented from going to Hathras, how her family was barricaded in and threatened, and finally, how Opposition leaders were lathi-charged.

All of this while allowing gatherings of upper caste men, some of whom openly issued death threats to Bhim Army leader Chandrashekhar Azad, who was booked for violating curfew laws.

Senior BJP leader Sunil Bharala defended these gatherings, saying these men had only come to “place their point of view,” which they had a right to do. Jain agreed, but countered, “Anyone else who comes there (Hathras) is greeted with lathis. So either you greet everyone with lathis or don’t use the lathi against anyone.”

Republic TV‘s Arnab Goswami said what happened in Hathras has been “shrouded in mystery, now the truth has begun to come out. Channels that spread lies have fled.” He claimed that he had tapes from the ground, eyewitness testimonies and written evidence that point at a “political conspiracy in cahoots with certain members of the Lutyens media to use the Hathras case to completely spin a fake news narrative.”

Political analyst Vandana Singh said, “They talk about Dalit girl, why can’t they say a girl has been raped? Why do they have to put the caste and community before the victim’s name?… We’re creating a caste war here, which is not fair to society.”

Zee News discussed the Yogi Adityanath government’s allegation of the Hathras case being a ploy to taint the administration, with anchor Aditi Tyagi taking his side: “Will we now use our daughters to instigate riots?”

The Congress’ Gajendra Singh Sankhla said, “Who is making such claims? Where is the truth behind this? This is only being said to divert our attention from the truth to hide the misdeeds of the BJP.”

BJP MP Rakesh Sinha fired back: “Yogi Adityanath has the mandate in the state, he has the police, he has all the legitimate right to act.”

News18 India‘s Amish Devgan began his segment by proclaiming, like a town crier, “Hathras bahana tha! Danga phailana tha, UP jalana tha!” (Hathras was an excuse! It was to set off riots and burn UP!)

Taslim Ahmed Rehmani of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) tried to get him to calm down: “Let’s talk about fact. Are you trying to say the crime was a conspiracy?”

Congress’ Alka Lamba sarcastically said, “This is an international ploy indeed… Her tongue wasn’t cut off, she wasn’t made disabled, she wasn’t even raped. I am saying nothing happened. Outside the victim’s house in the presence of the accused, no one is being threatened.”

At the other end of the news spectrum, Aaj Tak focused on the reported AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) forensic findings that Sushant Singh Rajput’s death was not a murder.

Anchor Anjana Om Kashyap repeatedly reminded the audience of the channel’s “unbiased reporting” in the case and that what the AIIMS report says cannot be denied.

About Rajput’s family’s lawyer, Vikas Singh, calling the report inconclusive, political analyst Ravi Shrivastava said, “About this case and the defence lawyer asking for the report, he can’t make such a demand because the report is not in the public domain.”

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