Trigger Warning: The following story contains graphic imagery.
Several users have shared images of the body of a young woman found on the Yamuna Expressway, with the claim that she had been murdered by a person of Muslim identity.
Member of the Legislative Assembly, Om Kumar tweeted images of the body with the claim that the woman seen in the images was a victim of ‘Love Jihad’. He further suggested that a big campaign will have to be launched with the help of all the family members who are victims of Love Jihad. Kumar also made an indirect reference to the gruesome murder of Shraddha Walkar where the accused Aaftab Ameen Poonwalla is a Muslim. (Archive)
Senior Correspondent at Hindi Khabar and a former journalist of Sudarshan News, Aanchal Yadav, tweeted the same sets of photos and stated that there is a new Aaftab every day. This is also in reference to the Shraddha Walkar murder case. (Archive)
User @Shyamsrivastva1 also tweeted the images and stated that he was “100% confirmed” that the crime had been committed by a Muslim person whom he refers to as “Abdul”. (Archive)
Users @VlKASPR0NAM0, @RoyalKushwahaS and @PBSINGH14648043 also tweeted the images with the same claim.
Fact Check
The body of a young woman was found stuffed inside a trolley bag on a service road of the Yamuna Expressway. She was found on November 18. The police say that the woman appeared to be in her early twenties. According to the police, she had blood on her face and injury marks all over her body.
Several journalists shared images of the body in order to identify the woman. According to journalist Sachin Gupta, she had a bullet mark on her chest.
The official handle of Mathura Police put out a video statement on November 20 wherein they said that the woman in the images has been identified by her brother and mother. The victim’s family hails from the Badarpur region in Delhi.
थाना राया क्षेत्रान्तर्गत एक अज्ञात युवती का शव के शिनाख्त होने के सम्बन्ध में अपर पुलिस अधीक्षक नगर, मथुरा की बाइट। pic.twitter.com/DhK9wJy97R
— MATHURA POLICE (@mathurapolice) November 20, 2022
Upon a keyword search on Google, we found several articles which state that the woman had been identified as 21-year-old Ayushi Yadav, by her mother and brother. She was a resident of Delhi’s Badarpur. The articles further state that Yadav had been murdered by her father.
According to an India Today article, a few days back, Ayushi went out without telling her father, Nitesh Yadav. After she returned home, her father lost his temper and shot her. He then wrapped her body in plastic, stuffed it in a trolley bag and dumped the bag on the Yamuna Expressway in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.
According to an Aaj Tak article, the teams sent by the police found only the girl’s mother and brother at the address that they received. The police eventually found the father. During a late-night interrogation, the father confessed to killing the daughter.
TV9, Amar Ujala and other news media outlets corroborate the same information.
Alt News contacted Additional SP Martand Prakash Singh who refuted claims of a communal angle to the case.
Mathura Police held a press conference on November 21, stating that upon interrogating the victim’s family, the police found that the victim had married somebody despite her parents’ disapproval. This caused tension in the family and as a result, the victim’s father shot her twice on November 17. The body was kept at the house overnight. At around 3 in the morning, the body was packed in a red suitcase and the parents drove to the Yamuna Expressway where they eventually discarded it.
लाल ट्राली बैग में अज्ञात बालिका की जघन्य हत्याकाण्ड (आनर किलिंग) का सफल अनावरण करते हुये बालिका के माता पिता को मय आलाकत्ल व घटना मे प्रयुक्त कार सहित गिरफ्तार करने के सम्बन्ध में अपर पुलिस अधीक्षक नगर,मथुरा द्वारा दी गयी बाइट । pic.twitter.com/nmHnbLuUHX
— MATHURA POLICE (@mathurapolice) November 21, 2022
On being asked about the motive behind the murder, Mathura Police further clarified that the victim, who was an adult, had married a man named Chhatrapal at the Arya Samaj Mandir despite her parents’ disapproval. Moreover, the victim would often leave her house without informing her parents.
Mathura Police also tweeted that the heinous murder of Ayushi Yadav had been successfully solved.
थाना राया व स्वाट टीम
लाल ट्राली बैग में अज्ञात बालिका की जघन्य हत्याकाण्ड (आनर किलिंग) का सफल अनावरण करते हुये बालिका के माता पिता को मय आलाकत्ल व घटना मे प्रयुक्त कार सहित किया गिरफ्तार¬- pic.twitter.com/aKbaY9kcKI
— MATHURA POLICE (@mathurapolice) November 21, 2022
Journalist Mamta Tripathi tweeted, “मथुरा सड़क किनारे सूटकेस में मिली आयुषी का कातिल उसका पिता है।पिता नीतेश यादव ने बेटी के सीने पर गोली मारी, फिर सूटकेस में पैक कर फेंक दिया.. आयुषी की मां और भाई ने आज पहचान की. मामला ऑनर किलिंग का है…फिलहाल पिता गिरफ्तार है” (Translation: The murderer of Ayushi, whose body was found in a suitcase on the Mathura road side is her father. Father Nitesh Yadav shot at the daughter’s chest, then packed it in a suitcase and threw it away.. Ayushi’s mother and brother identified today. The matter is of Honor Killing… At present the father is arrested).
Principal Correspondent ABP Ganga, Vivek K. Tripathi also tweeted that Ayushi had been shot by her father, who then packed her in a suitcase. He refuted the communal claims that were being associated with the case and said that the father had been arrested by the police. (Archive)
Hence the murder of 21-year-old Ayushi Yadav was given a communal spin. Several verified handles on Twitter shared images of her dead body with the claim that a person of Muslim identity had murdered her. Many users also implied that Ayushi was another victim of ‘Love Jihad’. Alt News found these claims to be categorically false.