A shocking case came to light in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad where a 32-year-old domestic worker identified as Reena was arrested for allegedly mixing her urine into the flour dough which was used for cooking.
The arrest was made after a complaint by her employers when they noted that some of their family members experiencing liver-related complications. Concerned about their health issues, the family set up a sting using a hidden camera in their kitchen, capturing video evidence of the maid’s disturbing actions.
Subsequently, the Ghaziabad police arrested Reena on Tuesday, October 15. The police revealed that the maid’s actions were motivated by revenge due to being frequently scolded for minor mistakes in her work. The police booked Reena under section Section 272 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860 which deals with the adulteration of food or drink that is intended for sale.
However, despite the Ghaziabad police’s statement that there is no communal angle in this incident and both the accused and the complainants are Hindus, several right-wing pages and media outlets including India TV falsely labelled the case as “urine jihad.”
The term jihad is part of a conspiracy theory propagated by the Hindutva forces wherein Muslims are accused of engaging in food contamination against Hindus. This narrative like “love jihad” and “thook (spit) jihad” had been used in similar scenarios in the past provoking fear and division within society.
Misleading claims
India TV which is a sister channel of Aaj Tak, known for misleading reporting tweeted footage of the incident purportedly showing the maid urinating on cooking vessels, alleging that she mixed her urine into four while preparing rotis.
In the post, the channel wrote in Hindi that translates as, “In Ghaziabad’s Crossing Republic Society, an incident of “urine jihad” has come to light, which resulted in liver failure for the entire family.”
India TV posted the same video with the caption “urine jihad” on other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
However, following a massive backlash over misleading reporting, India TV fact-checked its own false claim, asserting that the accused name was Reena.
Another media outlet Hindustan which is a Hindi daily newspaper reported on the incident and published a representative image featuring a woman in a hijab and burka. However, the image was later replaced with a screengrab from the viral video related to the incident.
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