News portal The Quint journalist Meghnad Bose, accused of sexual harassment by multiple female journalists at the peak of #MeToo in the country, was caught spreading lies from the Hindu Mahapanchayat in Delhi on Sunday (April 3).
Meghnad alleged that participants in the Hindu Mahapanchayat assaulted him, some other Muslim journalists, and Delhi Police had detained them rather than taking any action against the alleged culprits.
In a social media post, Meghnad wrote, “Meer Faisal and Mohd Meharban, two young Muslim journalists assaulted by a Hindu mob at Hindu Mahapanchayat anti-Muslim hate speech event in New Delhi. Me and four other journalists (all 4 Muslims) detained by the Delhi Police. In a police vehicle right now.”
The Delhi Police said that no such thing had happened. In fact, some journalists, including Meghnad, deliberately tried to instigate the crowd and then proceeded to the PCR van as a precautionary measure. Meghnad and some other journalists willingly proceeded to the police station for security reasons.
DCP North-West Delhi Usha Rangnani said, “Some of the reporters, willingly, on their own free will, to evade the crowd which was getting agitated by their presence, sat in PCR Van stationed at the venue and opted to proceed to Police Station for security reasons. No one was detained. Due police protection was provided.”
She further added, “For spreading misinformation, due necessary action shall be initiated against such persons.”
This is not the first time The Quint or its journalist has been caught spreading fake news.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vehicle was stuck at a flyover on January 5 in Punjab because of a roadblock by farmers, The Quint published fake news to normalise the security threat to the prime minister.
It wrote a story on January 5 that PM Modi’s vehicle was stuck in traffic in Noida in 2017 for TWO HOURS, and no hue and cry was made about the prime minister’s security.
The netizens had fact-checked The Quint saying the Prime Minister’s vehicle was stuck in a traffic jam in Noida in 2017 for two minutes, not TWO HOURS.
PM Modi was headed for the inauguration of a metro line, and the pilot vehicle took a wrong turn. The moment UP Police noticed it, it was rectified within seconds. Two cops were suspended.
The Quint had republished the story later and removed the part where it mentioned how long the prime minister’s vehicle was stuck.
Leftist portal The Quint journalist Meghnad was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women in October 2018. In a long thread about the behaviour of Meghnad, journalist Poulomi Das has written, “His daily behaviour in campus included being downright mean to women in public, asking them about the bras they’re wearing or insisting on holding their waists or hands. He’d also ask women on the lawns to lie on his lap, pulls their cheeks, or rate the women in ACJ.”
