The Wire journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani has set new standards in shoddy and irresponsible reporting with her utterly provocative remarks after the Jamia violence incident in Delhi.
A video has gone viral on Twitter in which she can be heard spewing venom and provoking radical elements by claiming that Delhi Police had sexually molested women in the toilets of the Jamia Milia Islamia University.
This isn't journalism.
This is pure vile hate propaganda to invent controversy through fake news for some narrow political goals. Bigotry. #Shame https://t.co/WjhIrsjQHw— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) December 18, 2019
In this video, which was shared by senior journalist Aditya Raj Kaul, she can be heard claiming that the female students had locked up themselves in the University toilets when the police personnel barged in and sexually assaulted them. She also claimed that the lights were turned off by the police after which they molested the girl students. It is shameful that she admittedly said this without any official confirmation and only on the basis of hearsay. She claimed to have heard this from teachers and students, however she didn’t really produce anyone who could confirm her version.
What Arfa Khanum Sherwani has done in the garb of journalism and reporting, is to indulge in sheer rumouring and bigotry. She herself admits in the video that she said that within 24 hours of the Jamia violence. This shows the level of irresponsible and bigoted reporting that went into this video.
https://twitter.com/srikanthbjp_/status/1206831962381357056?s=20
This is highly irresponsible from a journalist. She should be immediately arrested.
— Mohan Ramchandani (@mohan_melody) December 17, 2019
It is a known fact that passions were running high among the radicalised elements in the University and the nearby areas. It was also manifested on Sunday when DTC buses and several other vehicles set on fire. It had become clear that mobs composed of radicalised elements had gone on rampage and the protests never really had a peaceful character attached to them. Sherwani’s remarks have the effect of provoking those elements in an even worse manner.
When radicalised mobs were running riot in Delhi and targeting public property, Sherwani’s rumours could have only led to further deterioration and escalation of violence. This is shoddy journalism of the worst kind, and in fact, it barely qualifies as journalism. What Sherwani has done is bare incitement of violence by provoking bigoted, communal elements. Delhi has already borne the brunt of violent and indoctrinated elements, who have been further misled by rumours and fake news being blatantly pushed by the left-liberals. Sherwani’s comments are a step further in the procovatory ladder. It also exposes how an entire ecosystem is hell-bent on spreading rumours and fake news about the CAA, which in turn, is leading to massive violence in different parts of the country.