BJP’s Jhalak Chakraborty, Social Media manager, share post claiming “Jihadists” behind defacing Assamese poster in Silchar; “Post is fake,” SP

In a bizarre turn of affairs, an old image has gone viral on Social Media. Several Facebook accounts and Twitter handles have shared the post which claims two Muslim men identified as Rahim Khan and Kadir Ali. The post adds that “Jihadi elements” are behind “dividing the Hindus” and the “Hindus” must unite to fail such attempts from the “Jihadists”.

To put things into perspective, in Silchar town, three hoardings carrying government advertisements were defaced by members of Barak Democratic Front and All Bengali Youth Students’ Organisation (ABYSO). They claimed that the banners in the Assamese language violate the Language Act as Bengali is the official language of Barak Valley. Moreover, one of the hoardings was placed right at the Silchar Railway Station where eleven martyrs laid their lives to secure Bengali as the official language. As a mark of protest, the banners were defaced.

The Jal Jeevan Mission, which had placed the hoardings lodged an FIR and the Superintendent of Police, Cachar, Ramandeep Kaur led the investigation. Two members of ABYSO Raju Deb and Samar Das were arrested last night in connection to the case.

Astonishingly, instead of mentioning Raju Deb and Samar Das’ names, BJP’s district media convenor Jhalak Chakraborty shared a post on Facebook that states Jihadi elements Rahim Khan and Kadir Ali were behind defacing the posters. Chakraborty shared the post initially uploaded by Ranjita Das who identifies herself as a Member of Social Media Cell, Assam Pradesh. Another Facebook account, Jayanta Chakraborty who identifies himself as Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha State Vice President at BJP Assam shared the same post claiming, “Deep conspiracy of Hindu Division in the name of the language. Police have arrested Rahim Khan and Kader Ali just a while ago. In the post, he has tagged Silchar MLA Dipayan Chakraborty and other members of the BJP.

What is even more astonishing is that Silchar MLA Dipayan Chakraborty, who was being tagged, himself condemned the incident and shared his suspicion that Pradip Dutta Roy and former MLA Dilip Paul are behind these activities. He spoke with Barak Bulletin and demanded action against those who defaced the posters.

Not only the two BJP members but the post has also been shared by thousands of other handles. When asked about it, SP Cachar, Ramandeep Kaur said that the social media post have been brought to the notice of Cachar Police. “We have arrested two individuals – Raju Deb and Samar Das and that has already been briefed to the media. Apart from them, we have not arrested anyone else yet,” clarified the SP. She said that the post gone viral is baseless and two individuals mentioned are not linked with the Jal Jeevan Mission hoarding defacing case.

It is worth noting that after the Hindus were attacked in Bangladesh, protests erupted in various parts of Silchar. The deputy commissioner of Cachar had held a meeting to ensure peace and tranquility is maintained in the district. DC Keerthi Jalli warned that the administration will keep a close watch on Social Media handles and stern actions will be taken against those who share misinformation on digital. However, as it turns out, the district administration is playing the role of spectator while thousands react to fake posts.

Lastly, who are the two boys that feature in the social media posts is partially known. The Hindu Post reported in February 2020, that these two individuals were arrested by West Bengal police. If that piece of information is authentic or not is again unknown.