‘I Didn’t Die in Kasganj, They Spread Hate in my Name’: Hindu Man

“I realised there were people who were using me to try & instigate violence in Kasganj,” Rahul Upadhyay said.

In a fresh twist in the 26 Jan Kasganj clashes, it has been found that Rahul Upadhyay was falsely reported dead in the riots. The Indian Express quoted the 24-year-old as saying:

I realised there were people who were using me to try and instigate further violence. The narrative was about Hindus being killed and I reached out to police and district administration. Eventually, I got through.

According to the daily, Rahul, who runs a news outlet, reportedly received a call on Saturday enquiring if he was dead. He told the daily that he thought it was a joke before he noticed social media posts about his death doing the rounds.

“Contrary to rumours spread on social media, Rahul Upadhyay is alive. We have arrested four people for spreading false rumours,” Sanjeev Gupta, IG Aligarh Range told ANI. The 24-year-old man was declared dead after rumors about his death went viral on social media, following which some media houses picked up the “report”.

A report in Hindi daily Amar Ujala, stated: “Officials expressed resentment over the death of council worker Chandan Gupta and Rahul Upadhyay in the incident. Workers removed the candle march from the roadways bus stop to Guruvindhind Singh Thirah by moving from the office to Main Road in their memory.”

The report was shared several times on Twitter.

While Chandan Gupta was killed #Kasganj violence, Rahul Upadhyay apparently got injured in a separate incident. Initial local media reports said he died in riot. Deleted an earlier tweet that mentions Rahul, although what I said in that tweet about dangerous justifications stands

— Abhijit Majumder (@abhijitmajumder) January 29, 2018

Not hearing good things about Kasganj. It’s being said that another boy called Rahul Upadhyay has also succumbed to injuries. Can someone plz confirm the truth? Police which was quick to confirm that no Muslims were involved in Gurgaon bus attack is keeping mum.#IamChandanGupta

— Sonam Mahajan (@AsYouNotWish) January 27, 2018

IG Sangiv Gupta spoke to Rahul Upadhyay in fornt of Media soon after rumor of his death went viral. 4 People have been arrested for spreading rumor of his death. Will Police arrest Managing Editor of Mail Today @abhijitmajumder for inciting violence by sharing fake news? pic.twitter.com/4GLunxaTLU

— Unofficial Sususwamy (@swamv39) January 29, 2018

As many as 112 people have been arrested since the communal clashes in Kasganj, that broke out on Republic Day when a ‘Tiranga Yatra’ bike rally was taken out by the ABVP and other outfits. As the motorcade passed through Badu Nagar – a Muslim-dominated area – a heated argument erupted, which then led to stone pelting. The clashing groups resorted to firing, in which 22-year-old Chandan Gupta was killed, while another man named Noushad was injured.

As Kasganj attempted to limp back to normalcy on 29 January, prohibitory orders remained in place and security forces maintained a strict vigil to keep the situation under control. The UP police said drone cameras had been deployed for aerial surveillance.