Viral: Morphed image of Yogi Adityanath watching Hathras victim’s cremation ‘live’

A 19-year-old Dalit woman, who was allegedly gang-raped by four upper-caste men in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, was cremated in the wee hours of September 30. Family members were locked inside their homes and the victim’s body was burnt without her parents at the site where police formed a human chain to block protesters. In this backdrop, Facebook user Niraj Dhanwal posted an image of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath where he is purportedly seen watching the cremation of the Hathras victim live on a laptop. The message posted along with the image reads, “इसके लिए 2-2 शब्द जरूर बोलो (Please reserve a few words for this.)” As of this writing, the post amassed over 8,400 shares.

Another Facebook user Lokesh Kumar posted the same image and said, “हाथरस गैंग रेप पिड़िता को युपी की जल्लाद पुलिस वालों ने कैसे जलाया उसकी लाइव वीडियो देखता हुआ एक नाकारा मुख्यमंत्री. (The incompetent Chief Minister watching the live video of Hathras gang-rape victim being cremated by UP’s cruel policemen.)” The post has been shared over 400 times so far. The image is also being shared on Twitter with the same claim.

#हाथरस_गैंगरेप पीड़िता को यूपी की जल्लाद पुलिस वालों ने कैसे जलाया उसकी लाइव वीडियो देखता हुआ एक नाकारा और नपुंसक मुख्यमंत्री.

हमें शर्म आती है इसके जैसे नपुंसक को अपने प्रदेश का मुखिया कहते हुए.#हाथरस_गैंगरेप #बलात्कारियों_को_फांसी_दो#बलात्कारी_योगी_सरकार@suryapsingh_IAS pic.twitter.com/W8boTjupns

— बेरोजगार जय प्रकाश सिंह 🇮🇳 (बाइस में बाइसकिल)🚲 (@JPSingh_SP) October 1, 2020

Fact-check

A simple reverse search reveals that the picture has been morphed. The original photograph of CM Yogi Adityanath was tweeted by news agency ANI on Septemeber 30. In the photo, he was speaking to the father of the Hathras victim over a video call. To protect the identity of the family, the face of the father was blurred in the image. According to another tweet by ANI, after speaking to the family, the CM announced that ex gratia of Rs 25 lakh and a house will be given to the family of the victim along with a government job to one family member.

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath speaks to the family of #Hathras gang-rape victim, via video conferencing. pic.twitter.com/htIprJUk0W

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 30, 2020

India Today journalist Tanushree Pandey had clicked a picture of the Hathras victim’s body being cremated in the dead of the night early September 30. The picture superimposed on the laptop’s screen is the same one clicked by the journalist.

A comparison of the viral edited image and the original photo of CM Adityanath is posted below.

This image was earlier fact-checked by India Today, The Quint and Boom.

A photo of CM Adityanath speaking with Hathras victim’s family was edited and shared with the claim that he watched the cremation of the victim’s body ‘live’.