A big and sensitive matter is on the horizon, US has accused an Indian individual of being involved in a plot to assassinate US citizen and Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. It’s a national issue, so what do our journalists do? They amplify it.
US DOJ has released an indictment of one Nikhil Gupta, alleging that he, on behest of an Indian government employee, contracted a US criminal associate as part of the alleged plot to assassinate Pannun.
You can read this document online, a general reading will give you the idea how its packed with weak evidence, baseless claims and glaring inconsistencies.
The indictment states that the Indian government official shared the video of Nijjar’s body with Gupta within hours of his death. It implied that Nijjar’s murder and the alleged plot to assassinate Pannun are masterminded by one similar setup and that simply uploading a video of the body is sufficient proof to substantiate that claim. However, it can be easily disputed by comparing publicly available data.
Twitter user ‘Radical Watch’ has published a thread on X, which also mentions several Indians who have amplified the US narrative on the assassination plot of Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Indian Journalists Spread US Narrative on Assassination of Pannun
Certain Indian journalists have amplified this narrative-packed indictment in US related to an alleged assassination of Khalistani terrorist Pannun. So, who are these journalists, let’s take a look.
On 29 November, former NDTV anchor Ravish Kumar tweeted, “अमरीका से आ रही यह ख़बर कल हिंदी अख़बारों के किस कोने में छपेगी?” Translating into English, it means “In which corner of the Hindi newspapers will this news coming from America be published tomorrow?”
Another “notable” journalist and financial fraud accused Rana Ayyub jumped into the foray as she shared a screengrab of an article related to the recent indictment case.
Just like Ravish Kumar, Rana Ayyub is also a vocal basher of the current government and is often accused of being biased by BJP supporters.
Next, in the list is fake news peddler Sagarika Ghose, who made a tweet on 30 November, the tweet says, “The Indian citizen #NikhilGupta accused by the US of plotting to kill Pannun agreed to do so in exchange for being let off the hook in Gujarat criminal case. Was assured by unnamed govt official “CC-1,” that case has been taken care of and nobody from Gujarat police is calling.”
Next, we have two birds of the same flock, anti-modi journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani and Siddharth Varadrajan, the former is senior editor at TheWire, while the latter is founding editor of same propaganda portal.
Siddharth Varadrajan wrote an article on TheWire titled ‘From Nijjar to Pannun, Modi Government’s Recklessness is Undermining National Interest’ — it seems as if TheWire’s founding editor has already labelled India as guilty in this case.
Now, Varadrajan’s piece is further amplified by Arfa who shares the article on Twitter as captions it a must-read, as if her boss has written something revolutionary.
Another editor from TheWire, Seema Chishti, shares the same piece as she quotes from it, “If true, allegations levelled by 3 US federal agencies against an Indian official of planning an assassination in New York paint an unflattering picture of the country’s national security leadership”.
Now, one could wonder and say, they are doing their job, what they are supposed to do as journalists, report the matter. But we have prime examples of certain Indian journalists who for their agenda have sacrificed national interests, again and again.
Barkha Dutt and Kargil War
Barkha Dutt is often accused of irresponsible journalism during the Kargil war in 1999.
Lt Gen Mohinder Puri in book ‘Kargil: Turning the tide’ had provided an account about Barkha Dutt’s irresponsible journalism. He narrated an incident when the Army was alarmed after Barkha was seen live telecasting a military operation that was supposed to be carried out in complete secrecy.
Now, most of the journalists mentioned above, fueled by their ideological difference from the current Indian party ruling India, are amplifying this half-baked report with US narrative, and they are not even bothering with a fact check.
Such matters should be best left to the wit and intellect of Indian leadership, who have unarguably steered the country perfectly through multiple diplomatic seastorms.
Read More: Decoding Nexus of Punjab-based Gangsters and Khalistani Terrorists in Canada