Hate watch group filed 17 complaints against Kannada channels, no response from cops

Campaign Against Hate Speech’s latest complaint is against news channel Public TV for making unverified claims that a crime, which allegedly took place over a personal rivalry, was part of a conspiracy to target Hindus.
Kannada news channels
Kannada news channels
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Karnataka-based activist group Campaign Against Hate Speech (CAHS) has filed 17 complaints against Kannada news channels over hate speech this year, but has received no acknowledgement, the group's members say. The latest complaint was against popular Kannada news channel Public TV for their coverage of a crime that allegedly took place over a personal rivalry in Bengaluru. In a programme aired on May 9 titled ‘Miscreants Who Had Planned To Throw Petrol Bombs On Temples Arrested’, Public TV made unverified claims that the arrests were part of a larger conspiracy to target Hindus, CAHS said.

The complaint submitted to Bengaluru Police Commissioner CH Pratap Reddy accused Public TV anchor Arun Badiger of making false and unsubstantiated statements, claiming a ‘conspiracy‘ attempt to attack Hindus and the RSS. The anchor had linked the crime, which the investigating police said was due to a personal feud, to the azaan and hijab row as well as communal tensions in Hubballi, Shivamogga, Padarayanapura and KG Halli and DJ Halli in Bengaluru.

"He claims that they have a ‘murderous mentality’ because of their ideology and asks if they are here because they cannot do anything in (Uttar Pradesh). Although the anchor does not mention the name of the community, it is clear to the audience that he is referring to the Muslim community. Public TV’s correspondent goes so far as to state that an attack was planned against a temple in Saraipalya," the complaint by the CAHS quoted the anchor as saying.

"The correspondent does not cite a single police source for his claim that the attacks are being planned. Instead, he cites police sources to state that the arrest of three people was likely due to a personal feud. Despite these clarifications from the police, the programme goes on to claim a dangerous conspiracy against Hindus," the complaint further stated.

CAHS also filed complaints to the editors of Power TV, Public TV, News18 Kannada and Asianet Suvarna, over their unverified claims that Mandya-based student Muskaan Khan "fled" India to go to Saudi Arabia and "meet with extremists". Power TV News wrote, “Muskan has gone abroad, is this a conspiracy to meet extremists?”, while other channels made similar claims. The right-wing portal OpIndia too amplified this claim. In its complaints, CAHS said that the unverified claims made about Muskan's trip to Saudi Arabia had endangered her. "Such irresponsible and malicious reportage threatens to put Ms. Khan’s life and safety and that of her family’s in peril," the complaint stated.

Mandya SP Yatish told Kannada daily Vartha Bharathi that Muskan visited Saudi Arabia for personal reasons, for which police permission is not required. He added that no complaint has been filed against Muskan and her family. Alt News reported that Muskan was in Saudi Arabia for the Umrah pilgrimage.

Hate Speech Beda or the Campaign Against Hate Speech was launched in April 2020. The group has since been consistently raising their voice against instances of bigotry and problematic coverage of communal issues in Kannada news channels. In 2021, CAHS had filed 17 complaints against Kannada news channels in district and state-level committees, but did not receive any acknowledgement in this regard.

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