With affordable smartphones and rapid spread of information, news is travelling faster than ever before. However, in the rush and din of the social media culture, we more often than not end up sharing misinformation instead of real news.
On Monday, 28 October, media reports surfaced regarding the killing of Amaresh Nayak, stating that the Orissa youth was hacked to death for allegedly bursting firecrackers on the night of Diwali.
Various news outlets including The Indian Express and Hindustan Times carried the news quoting police officials saying that Amaresh and his friends were burning crackers when an altercation broke out between two groups.
CLAIM
The incident is drawing extreme reactions on social media, with people giving it a communal spin. People on social media are claiming that Amaresh was killed because he was bursting crackers, hinting that people from the Muslim community are behind the murder.
People on Facebook also compared the incident with the murder of Hindu Samaj Party leader Kamlesh Tiwari.
TRUE OR FALSE?
While speaking to The Quint, Sudhanshu Sarangi, Commissioner of Police Bhubaneswar confirmed that the incident happened but added that there is no communal angle to it.
Also, we could confirm that the two groups involved in the clashes belonged to the same community, ruling out the possibility of a communal turn of events.
WHAT WE FOUND
Sarangi further told The Quint that the murderers are absconding and will soon be put behind bars.
“This is a clear case of murder. Altercation broke out between two sections over smoking of a cigarette. That led to a verbal feud which later turned violent. The two parties involved also shared past enemity.”Sudhanshu Sarangi, Commissioner of Police, Bhubaneswar
Speaking to Ommcom News, DCP Anup Kumar Sahoo also said that the fight ensued between two groups, following which Nayak was attacked.
We also got in touch with local reports and saw reports in the local media which clearly suggested that the clashes weren’t communal in nature and were only a result of spontaneous provocation when after an argument 10-12 people assaulted Amaresh.
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