Four people have been convicted in the 2005 Ayodhya Terror Attack case while one person has been acquitted by a special court in Prayagraj. The four convicts have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

2005 Ayodhya terror attack case: Prayagraj Special Court sentences four convicts to life imprisonment and acquits one person. pic.twitter.com/T5bZKOXsJ2 — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) June 18, 2019

Public prosecutor Gulab Chandra Agrahari told reporters that a fine of Rs. 2.4 lakhs has also been imposed on each of the convicts. Irfan, Ashiq Iqbal alias Farooque, Shakeel Ahmed and Mohammad Naseem have been found guilty while Mohammad Aziz has been acquitted.

India Today, meanwhile, has used the image of the Demolition of Babri for the news on the convictions in the Ayodhya Terror Attack. It appears that journalists at the organization aren’t aware that the two are separate incidents. Apart from the fact that the incidents are separated by 13 years between them, one was part of a reclamation project gone out of control while the other was an instance of Islamic Terrorism.

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On the 5th of July, 2005, 6 terrorists stormed Rama Janambhoomi in a bid to strike at the makeshift shrine at the site. They used an explosive-laden vehicle to breach the security cordon around the area. While one of them lost his life in the resulting explosion, the rest of them were gunned down by security forces before they could succeed in fulfilling their objective.

Seven CRPF soldiers suffered severe injuries and at least one pilgrim lost his life in the attack. Casualties could have been much higher had the security forces present did not foil the terrorists’ agenda. Those convicted today are accused of providing logistical and material support to the terrorists. Four of them were arrested on the 3rd of August in the same year, while Irfan Khan was arrested a few days later.

Providing a ‘Hindu’ spin to crimes committed by Muslims is, of course, nothing new for the mainstream media or India Today itself for that matter. In the past, they have used the image of a Hindu girl to highlight the high rate of child marriages among Muslims in Kerala. India Today had introduced a Christian pastor as a “Kerala priest” while reporting about his demand for jeans and t-shirts girls to drown in the sea.

Times of India, for its part, was not far behind either. They had used the image of a Hindu Sadhu to depict ‘Asif Noori’ who was accused of forcing women into having unnatural sex with him. They had to issue an apology later.