On Saturday, 13 October, the wife and son of a Gurgaon district judge were shot in broad daylight by their personal security officer (PSO) on duty. On Tuesday, 16 October, police declared that the sole motive behind the murder was “sudden rage”.
Several initial media reports had, however, linked the murder to “religious conversion” even before the police concluded its investigation. They declared that PSO Mahipal pressured the judge’s family to embrace Christianity, which led to frequent altercations and the subsequent attack. The bases of these reports were the perpetrator’s spiritual inclination and the multiple statements he gave during police interrogation.
Dainik Jagran
Dainik Jagran had first reported the incident on Saturday, 13 October. They said Mahipal’s motive for the murder was yet to be ascertained by police. However, in another report published two days later, the Hindi news outlet declared that the “entire matter was linked to religious conversion.”
This article reported that police were on the lookout for Mahipal’s “guru” and “guru ma”. It subsequently meandered to incidents in the past when according to “CID sources” the duo were detained for converting people in lieu of medical assistance. Mahipal too was allegedly involved in the same.
“सीआईडी सूत्रों की मानें तो महिपाल अभी तक 2 दर्जन से अधिक युवाओं का धर्म परिवर्तन करा चुका है। (If CID sources are to be trusted, Mahipal has so far religiously converted two dozen people.)”Dainik Jagran
Immediately after establishing a link between Mahipal and his “Christian” leaning, Dainik Jagran connected it to the murder. Under the sub-heading “was pressurising Judge’s wife and son to religiously convert”, the report narrated that Judge Kant’s wife Ritu and son Dhurv opposed Mahipal’s religious impositions, which led him to behave indecently with them and get into fits of rage.
“इसी वजह से आरोपी ने रेणु और उनके बेटे ध्रुव को शनिवार को गुरुग्राम के सेक्टर 49 स्थित आर्केडिया मार्केट में गोली मार दी। (For this reason the accused shot Renu [Ritu] and her son, Dhruv, on Saturday at the Arcadia market in Gurugram sector 49.)”Dainik Jagran
In a subsequent paragraph, Dainik Jagran declared that the motive behind the murder was “religious conversion”.
“मीडिया रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक, सूत्रों से यह भी पता चला है कि महिपाल कई महीनों से जज की फैमिली पर धर्म परिवर्तन का दबाव बना रहा था। यह भी कहा जा रहा है कि एक महीने से इस बात को लेकर जज के परिवार से उसका झगड़ा भी हो रहा था। शनिवार को मौका पाकर उसने जज की पत्नी-बेटे को गोली मार दी। (According to media reports, sources say Mahipal was imposing religious conversion on the judge’s family for several months. It is also being said that since last month, he had been getting into fights with the judge’s family for the same reason. Taking an opportunity on Saturday, he shot the judge’s wife-son.)”Dainik Jagran
Dainik Bhaskar
Dainik Bhaskar published a report on Monday, 15 October, titled – “Judge family murder case: Was this the only reason the gunner shot the judge’s wife-son, the entry of ‘guru’ and ‘guru ma’ into the shootout (translated).”
The media outlet reported about a “religious conversion gang” which was run by Mahipal’s alleged ‘guru’, Indraraj. Police were also searching for this ‘guru’ and another ‘guru ma’ who seemed to have had a strong influence on the accused, Dainik Bhaskar said.
Oneindia
On Monday, 15 October, Oneindia had published a report on the incident, titled – “Gurugram shootout: Gunner Mahipal was involved in a religious conversion racket, wanted to make judge’s wife Christian.”
The news organisation’s reportage was identical to that of Dainik Jagran’s. Same as the latter, Oneindia wrote that Mahipal murdered the judge’s wife and son because they had opposed forced evangelism.
Eenadu India
On Wednesday, 17 October, news organisation Eenadu India also declared that Judge Kant’s wife and son were murdered because they opposed religious conversion imposed upon them by Mahipal.
“महिपाल, जज की पत्नी रेणु व उनके बेटे ध्रुव पर भी पिछले काफी समय से धर्म परिवर्तन का दबाव बना रहा था. दोनों ने उसकी बात नहीं मानी, तो आरोपी ने उन पर गुस्सा करना शुरू कर दिया था. इसी वजह से आरोपी ने रेणु और उनके बेटे ध्रुव को शनिवार को गुरुग्राम के सेक्टर-49 स्थित आर्केडिया मार्केट में गोली मार दी. (For the last few months, Mahipal was pressuring the judge’s wife Renu [Ritu] and son Dhruv to religiously convert. When both of them did not listen to him, he became furious. For this reason, the accused shot Renu (Ritu) and her son, Dhruv, on Saturday at the Arcadia market situated in Gurugram sector 49.)”Eenadu India
Aaj Tak
News organisation Aaj Tak had initially reported the incident bereft of Mahipal’s “Christian” links. After his spiritual leaning came up during the police investigation, Aaj Tak published another report which obliquely connected the murder with religious conversion.
“उसने हिन्दू धर्म को त्याग कर ईसाई धर्म अपनाया था. बताया जा रहा है कि धार्मिक बातों पर जज की पत्नी के साथ उसकी बहस होती थी. पुलिस हिरासत में भी महिपाल कह रहा था कि धर्म परिवर्तन को लेकर जज की पत्नी उसे परेशान करती थी. (He surrendered Hinduism and embraced Christianity. It is being said he used to have arguments with the judge’s wife on religious matters. Even in police custody, Mahipal said the judge’s wife used to trouble him on the matter of religious conversion.)”Aaj Tak
While the article did not explicitly link the murder to ‘religious conversion’, the title of the report was provocatively worded and implied the same.
Swarajya
On October 14, Swarajya published an article titled – “A Christian ‘Inquisition’ In India? Gurugram Shooting Being Probed As An Act Of Fanatical Evangelism By A Neoconvert”. The title suggested that the “religious conversion” angle was being probed as a probable motive behind the murder.
The report claimed that Mahipal was allegedly forcing the judge’s family to convert. Incidentally, Swarajya also quoted a statement of Police Commissioner KK Rao which hinted at Mahipal’s “Christian” leanings but did not establish that the murder was being probed as an act of “fanatical evangelism”.
“Investigations are on and we are still to know the real motive. Yes, he had been speaking about the Bible.”Police Commissioner KK Rao
Unlike most of the afore-mentioned Hindi news organisations, Swarajya did not directly link the murder to religious conversion or the family’s opposition to it. However, the prejudiced language used in the report attempted to prematurely blame Mahipal’s spiritual inclination for the crime.
OpIndia
OpIndia’s reportage was similar to that of Swarajya’s. Its Sunday, 14 October, article was titled – “Gurugram double shooting being perceived as a result of fanatic evangelism by a neoconvert.”
“The initial investigation insinuates that the shooting may be a result of fanatical evangelism of the gunman.”OpIndia – the source hyperlinked for this information was Swarajya.
Though in the title there was an attempt to subtly suggest a link between religious conversion and the shooting, the outlet did not go as far as to directly connect the dots. It was largely similar to Swarajya’s report.
How Other Media
Organisations Reported the “Christianity” Angle
Following the Saturday, 13 October incident, Gurugram police began probing the possible motive behind the crime. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was also formed for the purpose. The police were investigating all facets that might have led Mahipal to shoot his employers, and during the probe, Mahipal’s religious inclination was discovered. Many news organisations declared this as the motive behind the murder. However, there were several others that reported it only as a police discovery and refrained from prematurely linking it to the murder.
NDTV published several reports on the incident (1, 2, 3, 4). These neither linked the crime to fanatic evangelism nor quoted any police officer as saying the motive behind the murder was Ritu’s opposition to embracing Christianity.
The Times of India also extensively covered the crime. In the report where the media organisation talked about Mahipal’s religious leanings, the title of the article itself explicitly mentioned that the cops were “clueless” and searched for the accused’s spiritual guru. This report was published on Monday, 15 October, the same day Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar and One India declared fanatic evangelism as the motive behind the murder.
The Times of India also reported that the police’s investigation found that Mahipal’s ‘guru’ and ‘guru ma’ had a strong influence on him. However, the media outlet followed this statement with – “but none of this has yet helped them (police) understand what led a man with no history of misconduct or violent behaviour to shoot at a family he was assigned to protect.”
“The guard was heard saying ‘devil’ and ‘shaitan’ while firing (at Ritu and Dhruv). The use of this kind of words indicates something else. This doesn’t reflect normal stress and frustration.”The Times of India quoted a judicial officer, who is also Judge Kant’s colleague, in a Tuesday, 16 October report.
This was comprehended by several media organisations as ‘Satanic’ terms. However, DCP Sulochana Gajraj, who is heading the SIT probe into the attack, was quoted by The Times of India as saying that Mahipal told the cops that the words meant “bad and dirty person.”
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sumit Kumar gave an identical statement about the use of the words ‘devil’ and ‘shaitan’ to Hindustan Times. This was reported in a Saturday, 14 October article.
In a subsequent Monday, 15 October, report published by the media outlet, DCP Kumar also said that “Mahipal had been watching videos related to religion and it is suspected that he had been attending ‘conversion’ camps.” However, Hindustan Times clarified in the following sentence that the news organisation “could not independently verify the claim” and that “the police also could not explain as to how his alleged attendance at such camps could be connected to Saturday’s shooting.”
A report published by The Tribune was used by several media outlets to claim that Mahipal was speaking about the Bible. This report was published by the news organisation on Sunday, 14 October and it indeed mentioned that Mahipal spoke about the Bible with investigation officials. He said, “It was every Christian’s duty to eliminate demons.” However, in the immediate paragraph, The Tribune quoted Commissioner of Police KK Rao who said, “Investigations are on and we are still to know the real motive. Yes, he had been speaking about the Bible.”
Another reportage that stood out was published by News18 on Tuesday, 16 October. The news organisation visited the accused’s village and spoke to family members to understand what provoked him to kill. According to News18’s ground investigation, Mahipal had a troubled personal life and in 2014, he changed his religion to Christianity which several of his relatives resisted. However, they were shocked to hear the news of the attack as his demeanour gave them no reason to suspect it.
Haryana Police Chief BS Sandhu said the motive was still not clear as there was no record of previous violent behaviour. While some of Mahipal’s friends said that he was unhappy with the job as the judge’s family made him run household chores, the police were yet to ascertain the motive behind the attack.
“We are trying to ascertain the reason behind this ghastly act. Our top priority is to solve the case.”News18 quoted BS Sandhu
Murder not Linked to Mahipal’s Spiritual Inclination: Police
The Haryana police held a press conference on Tuesday, 16 October, to provide details about its investigation into the attack.
“After probing all aspects of the case, we have reached the conclusion that Mahipal left the car unattended when the judge’s wife and son went shopping in Arcadia market, Gurgaon. When he was questioned and rebuked for not returning on time, he shot the duo in a fit of rage.”DCP (crime) Sumit Kumar.
One of the reporters questioned if this was the sole motive behind the murder, to which DCP Kumar replied, “Mahipal praised the judge’s family during interrogation and said that they never troubled him.” He added that the accused did seem to have a temper, and the sole motive behind the murder was the rage he felt when his absence was questioned and he was asked to hand over the car keys.
DCP Kumar also clarified that the claims suggesting that Mahipal’s family said that he was under tremendous work pressure were not discovered by the police and only reported by the media.
Alt News contacted DCP Kumar and questioned if the probe revealed any connection between “fanatic evangelism” and the attack. The officer reiterated that the sole motive behind the murder was “sudden rage”.
After the press conference, news organisations that had previously linked the murder to “religious conversion” also reported the police’s statements. However, none of them provided any clarification on their earlier misreporting based on which the “evangelism” angle was viral on social media.
A journalist with Swarajya, Vikas Saraswat, made an entire thread of tweets based on faulty media reports and portrayed that the murder was linked with fanatic evangelism.
Madhu Kishwar, who has circulated misinformation multiple times in the past, retweeted Saraswat’s tweet adding, “But English papers are hiding this fact. Given the aggressive planting of churches in Haryana & Punjab along with gross methods, including financial lure & crazy psychic games being played by missionaries, they are attracting social misfits & anti-social elements into their fold.” Kishwar is followed by Prime Minister Modi on Twitter.
Another usual suspect Prashant Patel Umrao also made tweets on the attack.
At a time when communal divide in the country is aggravated by vested interests, the role of the media is not to provoke but present unbiased information. In the rat race of “breaking” news, sensationalism ensures the maximum audience but premature and/or prejudiced reporting not only provides twisted facts but also sways public opinion in the wrong direction. Giving the Gurgaon attack a “fanatic evangelism” angle wasn’t an isolated instance of provocative reporting. Earlier this month, several news organisations fueled communal hate-mongering on Ankit Garg’s murder.
(This story was originally published by Alt News)
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