After the tragic incident of stampede at Mumbai’s Elphinstone railway station last week that claimed 23 lives and injured many more, a video of an alleged molestation sparked outrage on social media over the weekend.
Many media portals (including ScoopWhoop) carried a story based on a report by The Hindu which allegedly showed a man trying to ‘molest’ a woman trapped while lying on the foot-over bridge.
Here is the 8-second video which was the basis of the molestation story carried by The Hindu:
https://t.co/uOM6PPEWm7 @maharailways @rpfcrbb @rpfwrbct @RailMinIndia @the_hindu pic.twitter.com/5klcqBUHMV
— vedika chaubey (@vedikachaubey) October 1, 2017
Many portals, including us, carried the story:



But now, a longer video of the incident has emerged on Twitter which debunks the allegations of molestation. The 43-second-long video shows that the man was most probably trying to help the woman.
Same guy shared by @vedikachaubey ?
pic.twitter.com/pRsnQg4JWM— Fidus Achates (@Sohni_Bose) October 1, 2017
Social media questions The Hindu’s claims of Elphinstone stampede victim’s molestation story https://t.co/zCWQCOJF0d
— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) October 2, 2017
As the new video shows, the man in question is in full public glare and the spot he is present at, is being clicked and captured on mobile phones by passersby. This anyway makes it highly unlikely that the man would attempt such a thing.
People are strongly reacting to it on Twitter and are demanding an apology from the media:
They will brazen it out with arrogance instead of apologising..and Call you names instead..just wait and see..
— Ruchir Modi 🇮🇳 (@Ruchir78) October 2, 2017
It would be too much from our side to even ask for an apology. They have crossed all limits of SHAMELESSNESS.
— anwesha pattnaik (@anweshaIND) October 2, 2017
This is atrocious and to be frank expected from the filth we have in the media fraternity currently. Don’t expect any apologies @THMumbai
— Pulkit (@Pulkit_DU) October 2, 2017
D rate at which ‘Media’ (at least in India) is fast hurling down in its morality, it is no longer d 4th PILLAR of Democracy. It is crumbling
— M. S. Srinivasa Rao (@macharajarao) October 3, 2017
The incident is a shocking example of how media houses (including us) fall for news stories without verifying facts. The source being a credible mainstream outlet like The Hindu made it believable when it was not.
We admit that it’s very unfortunate that an eight-second incomplete video unfairly labelled a man as a ‘molester’ and we admit to our error in judgement. At a time when Mumbai is still recovering from the tragedy, such reports only add up the agony of people.
Update: The Hindu has apologised for the incorrect story:
We regret the publication of the report titled ‘Dying woman molested, video shows’.
— The Hindu (@the_hindu) October 3, 2017
A perusal of the clip mentioned in the story does not warrant such a conclusion.
— The Hindu (@the_hindu) October 3, 2017
The report’s publication was the result of the failure to adhere to journalistic norms.
— The Hindu (@the_hindu) October 3, 2017
This story is being withdrawn from all online platforms of ‘The Hindu.’ https://t.co/y5KwEeOlJD
— The Hindu (@the_hindu) October 3, 2017
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