New Delhi: A photo of a woman allegedly from the farmer protests against the Narendra Modi government’s three agriculture laws has gone viral on social media, with the claim that she was also “hired” by the Congress to act as the sister-in-law of the victim in the alleged Hathras gang rape and murder case.
On 29 November, verified Twitter user Shefali Vaidya quote-tweeted the post with the caption: “Is this true?”
Is this true? https://t.co/EJVqPyCOQs
— Shefali Vaidya. (@ShefVaidya) November 29, 2020
The original tweet shared by Vaidya showed the image of the woman amid protesting farmers, with the caption reading: “Pehchana inko???yeh hathras wale dalit bhabhi hain..ab yeh kisan ban chuki Hain..” (Do you recognize her? This is the Hathras Dalit sister-in-law… now she has become a farmer”)
Pehchana inko???yeh hathras wale dalit bhabhi hain..ab yeh kisan ban chuki Hain.. pic.twitter.com/j3gdPShOCC
— ???JAI SHREE RAAM??? team AIVA (@deshmata) November 29, 2020
This tweet has been retweeted 2,300 times.
Madhya Pradesh BJP leader Gaurav Tiwari, who also has a verified account, also shared the same image calling her “ichhadhari” (shape-shifter).
इन #इच्छाधारी मोहतरमा को पहचानने वाले और इनकी प्रसिद्धि में रीट्वीट कर चार चांद लगाने वालों को आज #फॉलो करूंगा… pic.twitter.com/U4zZ4CBYSA
— Gaurav Tiwari (@gauravtiwarirau) November 29, 2020
User Gaurav Pradhan shared the same picture and called the woman “Bhabhi for Rent”.
.@incindia started another service line
"Bhabhi for Rent"
Bhabhi in CAA protest in Agra
Bhabhi in Hathras
Bhabhi in Farmer protest
This is the employment model of @rahulgandhi & @priyankagandhi pic.twitter.com/q3Q6IWeuxE
— Gaurav Pradhan ?? (@OfficeOfDGP) November 29, 2020
The image has been shared on Facebook as well, with the account ‘India Against Desh Drohis’ sharing the same text as Gaurav Pradhan.
Also read: Photo shared by AAP, Youth Congress of Haryana cops using water cannon on farmers is from 2018
Fact-check
The woman in the farmer protests picture is not the same as the one who was claimed to be the Hathras victim’s sister-in-law in earlier images. The two clearly look different.
News18 had reported that the woman who was claimed to be the Hathras victim’s sister-in-law in pictures was actually a Jabalpur doctor called Rajkumari Bansal, who went to visit the family to offer help. There were also claims that Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s image hugging and consoling the victim’s mother had actually featured Bansal instead of the mother, but these were also debunked by fact-checking website AltNews.
No link has been established between either of the women in the pictures and the Congress party.
In collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer
Also read: 2019 cricket game clip shared as video of farmers raising pro-Khalistan slogans