ALLAHABAD: A senior journalist turned-filmmaker claims to have exposed an alleged fraud committed by an 11-year-old Kanpur girl, who is being hailed as a swimming sensation.
Filmmaker Vinod Kapri has purportedly shown in his documentary how Lalit Shukla, father of Shraddha Shukla (also called Jalpari), was not only fooling people by projecting her as an avatar of Maa Ganga but also forcing the girl to swim long stretches against her wish.
Kapri showed journalists a 10-minute clip of the 90-minute documentary made by his production house, Bhagirathi Films, between Rae Bareli and Allahabad, to prove his point. Lalit and Shraddha were not available for comment though.
Shraddha had set out on the 570-km Kanpur-Varanasi journey on Sunday to create a record by covering the entire stretch in just 10 days. The film, apparently, shows how Lalit made Shraddha swim just 200-300 metres while approaching a ghat, having public and media presence, and then carrying her on a boat.
One of the divers accompanying the girl was shown on camera saying how Lalit was fooling people by projecting his daughter as an incarnation of Maa Ganga and collecting money at the ghats. The film even allegedly shows old men and women touching the girl’ s feet.
“When I heard that the girl was swimming 80 to 100 km a day, I decided to make a documentary on her. However, while accompanying Shraddha for three days, I found her swimming on the instructions of her father only while approaching a ghat or seeing people. This disillusioned me,” said the award winning filmmaker.
{{/usCountry}}“When I heard that the girl was swimming 80 to 100 km a day, I decided to make a documentary on her. However, while accompanying Shraddha for three days, I found her swimming on the instructions of her father only while approaching a ghat or seeing people. This disillusioned me,” said the award winning filmmaker.
{{/usCountry}}According to Kapri, against the girl’s claims of swimming 80-100 km per day, we found she swam hardly two to three kms every day. “I recorded the statements of team leader Mann Singh Paswan and divers Pintu Nishad and Rammilan Nishad. All three said Shraddha had been doing the same from the very first day.” Kapri said Lalit told him on Day One that Shraddha was swimming for short stretches due to ill-health and, on the second day, said she was doing so as the river was full of crocodiles. “But, when it was repeated the third day, I decided to tell the truth.”
Shraddha’s mother Kalpana, though, said, “I am moving in a car and meeting my daughter and husband wherever they stop to meet people. I cannot comment on Kapri’s allegations.”
Incidentally, Kapri’s documentary has drawn flak from various quarters. Mohammad-Nafees, general secretary of Jeevan Rakshak Dal, an organisation backing the girl to reach her goal, said: “Kapri has not produced any incontrovertible evidence in the video .”