‘Human sacrifice at Kamakhya’: False claim lands TV anchor, Raja Raghuvanshi's cousin in trouble with Guwahati police
Guwahati police summon news anchor and Shrishti Raghuvanshi over ‘defamatory’ claims about the Hindu shrine during a live interview
A news TV anchor has landed in trouble with the police over a false claim of “nar bali (human sacrifice)” at the Kamakhya temple in Assam, during a live conversation with a cousin of Indore businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, who was murdered allegedly by his wife and her lover during their honeymoon in Meghalaya earlier this year.
The Guwahati Police Crime Branch summoned the news anchor along with Shrishti Raghuvanshi, a female cousin of Raja Raghuvanshi, over the alleged defamatory statement about the revered Hindu shrine, news agency ANI reported. The anchor and the channel were not named in the agency report.
After the FIR was filed on charges of hurting religious sentiments, both the anchor and Raja Raghuvanshi's cousin were asked to appear before the investigation officer on June 23 and 24, but they have not done so till date, according to Ankur Jain, Joint Police Commissioner, Guwahati City Police.
What happened on air
The anchor, reported to be from a prominent English news channel, was interviewing Shrishti about Raja's initial disappearance in Meghalaya – the murder came to light later – when the anchor claimed that human sacrifice was carried out at as a practice at the temple in Meghalaya's neighbouring state of Assam. Shrishti purportedly agreed with the anchor's remarks during the live broadcast, the police said according to a report by NDTV.
As outrage followed the false claims and the apparent suggestion that Raja may have been “sacrificed”, the channel and Shrishti apologised for a “complete error of judgment”.
The FIR said the anchor and Shrishti could not cite any source, religious authority or historical validation for their false claim. The anchor clearly presented the information as fact, it added.
Case dominated headlines
The murder of Raja Raghuvanshi made headlines for weeks as police investigation said Raja, 29, was murdered by his wife Sonam, 24, just days after they had left hometown Indore for their honeymoon in Meghalaya in May. Sonam, her alleged lover Raj and their accomplices killed Raja, police found.
After an intense search for Sonam, who was reported missing while Raja's body was found, she resurfaced and surrendered. Raj and the three accomplices had already been arrested by then.
