Questions have been raised about the authenticity of the video footage of recent state rallies organised by the Campus Front of India (CFI), telecast on various Kannada TV news channels.
Asif Baikady, spokesperson of CFI Karnataka, said, “The student forum had observed Anti-fascist Day across the state on January 30. Two separate FIRs were filed against the body by Yadgir and Belgaum city police the same day for raising slogans against the RSS and disrupting peace in the region. Nowhere in the FIRs was any mention about anti-national slogans”.
On April 23, three months after the incident, some Kannada channels showed clippings of members of the unit allegedly raising anti-national slogans, Baikady told reporters on Friday. He urged the channels to release the video footage in order to verify its authenticity.
Mehboob Gouse, CFI Bangalore vice-president, said, “Many human rights activists objected to the arrests of students just because they raised slogans against the RSS. In order to justify the police action, the RSS has colluded with the media to release this fabricated video”.
Home minister K J George has been briefed and he has promised to take necessary action, he added.