Media Outlets Concluded Dilshad Hussain As Rapist Even When Case Is Under Investigation

A 30-year-old Muslim man identified as Dilshad Hussain was shot dead outside Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur Civil court on January 21 by a former BSF personnel Bhagwat Nishad. Dilshad, a resident of Bihar's Muzaffarpur, was accused of raping and abducting a minor girl, daughter of Bhagwat and was out on bail in the same case.

Some social media users have been posting Dilshad's picture, justifying his murder, and giving the case a communal angle.

A social media user shared pictures of Dilshad and captioned, "Dilshad Hussain deserved this", citing that he used to mock the girl's father.

Another user shared Dilshad's picture and captioned, "After raping a minor Hindu girl and getting bail, this is how Dilshad Hussain mocked the girl's father, BSF soldier Bhagwat Nishad. Due to the judiciary's failure, the father did what he could. I will pay Rs 50,000 to the girl's family if a reputable person organises a fundraiser", citing to provide the girl's father financial assistance and justifying his crime.

Right wing media outlet OpIndia shared this story by giving it communal angle. Many media outlets including The Hindu, Times Of India, Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Republic, India Today also reported this incident.

Claim:

A Muslim youth was shot dead by a former BSF personnel because he raped and abducted his minor daughter.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian fact check team verified the claim and found it misleading. Bhagwat Nishad's daughter is not minor; she eloped with Dilshad Hussain in February 2020 to Hyderabad, where both got married in an Arya Samaj temple.

We came across a few posts that carried shreds of evidence that referred that the case had been reported out of context with a communal spin.

We found that Dilshad Hussain had embraced Hinduism and converted to Dilraj to marry the BSF personnel's daughter in an Arya Samaj temple in Hyderabad. Piyush Rai, a journalist at the Quint, shared the conversion certificates of the man, dated February 13 2020.

Taking a hint from here, we searched on the internet using specific keywords and came across an article by Bolta Hindustan. The report carried the marriage certificate of the duo dated February 13, 2020. The certificate mentioned all the details of the girl, such as her name, parents name, date of birth, age, and address. According to the certificate, the girl was born in 1998, which establishes that she was not a minor when she eloped with Dilshad.

In further investigation, We also checked other media reports that reported the murder of Dilshad Hussain. Several outlets such as The Hindu, The Print, and Times of India reported that the duo eloped on February 12, 2020, following which the girl's father filed a case against the boy on February 17, 2020. According to the reports, police managed to arrest Dilshad after a year on March 12, 2021, and rescued the minor girl from Hyderabad.

However, the marriage certificate mentions that the duo married on February 13, 2020, when the girl was 21-year-old. It is also suspicious that if it has been a rape and abduction case, the girl stayed with the boy for the period in Hyderabad.

During the investigation of this case, the police had put the section of POCSO Act due to rape as well as the girl being a minor according to her father complaint. Since then the accused Dilshad was lodged in Gorakhpur jail for a long time, and he was released on bail in the month of September.

We found a video report of Janjwar Media uploaded on YouTube dated January 23 2022, in which Manoj Singh, local journalist during a pannel discussion also said that girl during their marriage was not minor. He said, "She was born in 1998. The statement recorded under CrPC 164 does not mention that the girl was a minor. After moving to Hyderabad on February 11 2020, they married following Arya Samaj rituals. On this basis, the High Court had granted bail to Dilshad in September. There is no angle of Love Jihad as many media channels are trying to portray." From 8:40 of timestamp to 9:45 seconds, one can listen to his statement.

We spoke to Shashi Rao, SHO Cantt Gorakhpur, who commented that Dilshad Hussain and the girl might have got married, but since the case is under investigation, it would be too early to jump on to any conclusion. For more details, we tried to contact Barhalganj police station, where Dilshad Hussain's case was investigated, after his arrest from Hyderabad. The article will be updated after their response.

To sum up, Dilshad Hussain, who was shot dead by Bhagwat Nishad, has been established as an accused of raping and abducting a minor girl even before the case has been under investigation, no such verdict has been given. Several mainstream media outlets covered the story as such without in-depth information on whether the girl was minor. However, Dilshad Hussain's Marraige and conversion certificate suggest that he embraced Hinduism and converted to Dilraj to marry the BSF personnel's daughter in an Arya Samaj temple in Hyderabad. During marriage the girl was 22 year old which establishes that he was not minor.

If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.

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