Did Amit Shah Declare Death Penalty For Drug-Related Offenses, Ragging?
A social media news card quoting a remark on making a 'drug-free India' made by Amit Shah has been in circulation.
Claim:
Home Minister Amit Shah declares death penalty for drug-related crimes, ragging and murder.
Fact: The claim is unfounded. The viral news card is edited. Amit Shah’s original remark nowhere mentions the death penalty.
A news card quoting a statement on making a ‘drug-free India‘ to Amit Shah has been going around on social media. The news states that the Union home minister has declared that the death penalty will be imposed for drug-related crimes, ragging and murder cases.
A Facebook user posted the news card and commented, “This is a good decision-everyone should accept it without viewing it politically. Only a bold leader can take such a step. There is no need to justify everything like a spectator; we need action. Solidarity with the Central government for good initiatives!”
Fact Check
NewsMeter discovered that the statement is untrue. The viral news card has been manipulated, and Amit Shah has made no such declaration.
An examination of the circulating card revealed inconsistencies in the sentence formation and the fonts employed, which led to the conclusion that the top lines were not part of the original news card. The top lines of the news card are regarding the death penalty in drug-related cases, ragging, and murders.
In addition, we discovered the initial news card uploaded by Janam TV on March 2, whose caption reads that the Union government’s goal is a drug-free India. But this news card doesn’t mention that Shah has declared the death penalty for drug-related crimes, ragging and murder cases.
Janam TV card was derived from Amit Shah’s comment that action in an iron hand will be initiated against the drug mafia and the aim of the government is to make India a drug-free nation. This reiterated that the news card was edited with lines about capital punishment added to it.
Later, we found a video report uploaded on Janam TV’s YouTube channel on March 2, which was derived from Amit Shah’s X post about the Union government’s vision of a drug-free India. Following this cue, we read Shah’s post, which was purely about drug-related matters. There was no reference to ragging or murder. Moreover, the statement highlighted the strengthening of steps to curb drug mafias, without mentioning the death penalty.
