Video of Man Attacking Woman in K’taka Given False Communal Angle

A police officer told The Quint that both the victim and the accused are from Muslim community.

A video of a man attacking a woman with a machete in the middle of the road in Karnataka’s Hubballi has gone viral with the claim that the woman has become a victim of ‘Love Jihad.’

However, SK Holeyannavar, Hubballi suburban police station inspector, who is investigating the case, told The Quint that both the victim and the accused are from Muslim community and that there is no communal angle to the incident.

CLAIM

The claim shared along with the video reads: “हरियाणा की निकिता के बाद अब आशा हुई लव जिहाद का शिकार कर्नाटक के हुबली का मामला |”

(Translated: After Haryana’s Nikita, now Asha has become a victim of Love Jihad, incident is from Karnataka’s Hubballi)

Several social media users shared the video on Facebook and Twitter with the same claim.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We came across news reports published by The News Minute and India Today that had used screenshots of the viral video and mentioned that the incident took place in Deshpande Nagar in Karnataka’s Hubballi on 21 December.

The news reports identified the accused as Ismail, an auto driver, who was arrested soon after the attack and the victim as Asha D Agasara who works at a jewellery store.

Speaking to The Quint, SK Holeyannavar, Hubballi suburban police station inspector, who is investigating the matter said:

“Both the accused and victim are from the Muslim community. While Asha is a common Hindu name, it is also used by several Muslim families in the area. The claim that there is a Hindu-Muslim angle to the incident is wrong.”

He further said that the two were earlier in a relationship but later the woman left the accused and got into a relationship with another person.

“The girl is very much alive and has recovered. She has been discharged from the hospital and is now at her home,” he added.

Evidently, an incident of a man attacking a woman in Karnataka’s Hubballi was given a false communal angle by social media users.

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