On September 29, the victim in the alleged rape case from Hathras in Uttar Pradesh passed away in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital. Following her death, social media users began sharing an image which they claimed was of the deceased victim. On October 2, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy posted two photos of himself paying tribute the victim. A photograph of a woman dressed in pink salwar suit was used for the purpose.

https://i2.wp.com/www.altnews.in/hindi/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/v-narayanswamy-1.jpg?resize=810%2C769&ssl=1

On October 1, several Congress leaders held demonstrations around the country to condemn the Hathras incident. Tamil Nadu Congress also tweeted the same woman’s photo along with other pictures of their demonstration.

https://i0.wp.com/www.altnews.in/hindi/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/tamil-nadu.jpg?resize=810%2C610&ssl=1

This picture had begun circulating on social media on September 29, the day the victim passed away. Major Surendra Poonia was among those who tweeted it.

https://i0.wp.com/www.altnews.in/hindi/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/pooniya.jpg?resize=810%2C733&ssl=1

People have been sharing the image widely on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms demanding justice for the victim.

https://i1.wp.com/www.altnews.in/hindi/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/hathras.jpg?resize=810%2C812&ssl=1

Fact-check

This photo does not show the alleged Hathras rape victim.

This was clarified in a Facebook post by the brother of the woman seen in the image. This photo is related to a woman’s death due to medical negligence in Chandigarh in 2018. Ajay Jeetu Yadav wrote in a Facebook post on September 29, 2020, that this is his sister’s photo who had died two years ago. He requested social media users not to share this picture in connection with the Hathras case. He also mentioned that he had started an online campaign to get justice for his sister when the Chandigarh police refused to file an FIR.

ज्यादा से ज्यादा शेयर करे ।
नोट- ये फोटो जो आप लोग हाथरस केस के साथ जोड़कर शेयर कर रहे है ये फोटो मेरे बहिन की है जिसकी…

Posted by Ajay Jeetu Yadav on Tuesday, 29 September 2020

Alt News noticed that the picture now being misused was part of a Facebook post Yadav had shared back in July 2018 to demand justice for his sister Manisha Yadav.

https://i0.wp.com/www.altnews.in/hindi/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/ajay-jeetu-yadav.jpg?resize=784%2C730&ssl=1

We also looked at a few other news reports from July 2018. Manisha’s death had been covered by Punjab Kesari on July 25, 2018. Apart from this, Dainik Bhaskar also published a detailed report on the incident. It states, “Manisha was admitted to Landmark Hospital after getting a check-up done there on July 16, 2018. After this, her father was asked to arrange Rs 2 lakh. Two days later, Manisha was taken to the operation theatre for surgery. Her father alleged that the doctors did not tell him why she needed surgery when she seemed fine.”

The reports further adds, “After the surgery, Manisha was admitted to the ICU. Her family members were not allowed to meet her, and none of them knew how she was doing. On July 22, they were told that Manisha’s condition was serious and she would have to be referred to Fortis Hospital. She was sent to Fortis in a Landmark Hospital ambulance. The Landmark staff left shortly after dropping her there. After her medical check-up, doctors at Fortis Hospital declared that Manisha had already died. Hearing this, her family went into shock. They did not know what the doctors had done to her that led to her death. Her family then began protesting outside Landmark Hospital and called the police. However, the police did not take any action against the doctors.” A Dainik Jagran report from July 2019 stated that the family demanded Rs 65 lakh compensation for their daughter’s death following the surgery.

Social media claims have therefore misidentified the woman as the Hathras victim. The picture shows Manisha Yadav from Chandigarh who died due to medical negligence in 2018.

Donate to Alt News!
Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people start contributing towards the same. Please consider donating towards this endeavour to fight fake news and misinformation.

Donate Now

Tagged:
About the Author

She specializes in information verification, examining mis/disinformation, social media monitoring and platform accountability. Her aim is to make the internet a safer place and enable people to become informed social media users. She has been a part of Alt News since 2018.