Recently, the Uttar Pradesh government approved the ordinance, Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion Bill 2020, that seeks to bar “forceful religious conversions”, including for marriage, on 24 November.
Several other BJP-ruled states like Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Assam have also prepared drafts to pass similar laws. Yogi Adityanath had announced during UP by-poll campaign that his administration will bring a law that prevents forced conversion for marriage, terming it to be ‘Love-Jihad‘.
Meanwhile, a fake screenshot of ABP news channel has is increasingly going viral that reads, “Sambit’s daughter does jihad…Sambit Patra‘s daughter elopes with a Muslim man”.
However, it has been learnt that the viral image has been created using a breaking news template and an unrelated photo of Patra. The viral screenshot has a logo of TV news channel ABP Live and a ticker in Hindi which translates to ‘Sambit’s daughter does jihad…Sambit Patra’s daughter elopes with a Muslim man’.
India Today’s Anti-Fake News War Room (AFWA) found that the viral screenshot was created with the help of editing software and the claim is absolutely baseless because Sambit Patra does not have any daughter. He has not married yet.
In such a situation, how can a responsible news channel like ABP News run such misinformation. The screenshot that is being shared and the font used in it and the place of the logo is also wrong, which clearly shows that this is wrong news and common people are being tricked in the name of ABP News.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra had contested from Puri seat of Odisha. During this, it was told in the election affidavit submitted by him that he was not married.
