'Hindu rights' activist talking about 'love jihad' misidentified as IPS officer

(Editor's Note: This story was first published on June 28, 2023, and has been republished from Logically Facts' archives in light of claims resurfacing on social media.)

Context

A video has been circulating on social media claiming that an Indian Police Services (IPS) officer from Gujarat warned girls against "love jihad." The two-minute-long viral video shows a woman making derogatory comments about Muslims and speaking against inter-caste marriage and religious conversion. At the 0:34-minute mark, the woman can be heard saying, "They get money from Madrasas from marriage. Clerics and Moulanas give them 5-6 lakh rupees for marrying a Brahmin girl, 7 lakhs for marrying Sikhs, 8 lakhs for marrying Jains, and 6 lakhs for Rajput." She further claims that Muslims marry Hindu girls forcefully and then abandon them. 

Several users shared the video on Twitter with the caption, "This is Kajal Shingala, an IPS woman officer from Gujarat, warning girls about the dangers of love jihad. I urge the people of the Hindu religion to take caution. Please share this video with the girls in your family who study or work in any city."

However, the claim is false. The woman in the viral video is a self-proclaimed Hindu rights activist, not an IPS officer. 

In Fact

The woman in the video was identified as Kajal Shingala by several users. Accordingly, we checked her Twitter account, where she identifies herself as "an entrepreneur, research analyst, debater, social activist, nationalist and proud Hindustani." 

Shingala has a website in her name, where she introduces herself as a "strong and tireless advocate for Hindu rights." We reviewed her website and social media channels and noticed that several of her videos are anti-Muslim. As mentioned on her website, she can also be seen speaking on "Hindu rights" on multiple occasions. We didn't find any evidence that Shingala is an IPS officer. 

We reviewed the list of IPS officers in the state of Gujarat as of February 15, 2023, and could not find Shingala listed as one of the IPS officers posted in Gujarat.

According to All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, IPS officers are expected to maintain political neutrality and refrain from actively participating in political activities. IPS officers are prohibited from engaging in any form of political association, canvassing, or expressing opinions in public regarding political matters. It is evident that Shingala cannot be an IPS officer, as she openly endorses the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on her Twitter account.

Further, we came across a news report by The Indian Express dated April 10, which mentioned that Shingala is a resident of Gujarat's Jamnagar and campaigned for the BJP during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. She identifies herself as a "nationalist" and a "social activist." 

Shingala was arrested on April 9 for allegedly making a hate speech in Una during the Ram Navami celebration. Shingala had been booked under IPC Sections 195A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief). Five days after her arrest, a sessions court granted Shingala bail, reported Deccan Herald. Neither of these news reports mentioned anything about her being an IPS officer.

The Verdict

Shingala was misidentified as an IPS officer from Gujarat. A video showing Shingala making communal statements and talking about 'love jihad' was shared with a false narrative. Therefore, we have marked the claims as false.