Amid the unrest in Nepal, Indian media channels reported that former PM Jhalanath Khanal’s wife was killed after protesters had set fire to their house. Most of them mentioned her name as Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar. DD News, Dainik Bhaskar, Live Mint, The Times of India, Navbharat Times, Lokmat Times, News 24, The Lallantop, News18, The Federal, AB Star, among others claimed that the ex-PM’s wife received burn injuries in an arson attack, following which she was taken to Kirtipur Hospital, where she died. India Today and Times Now later took down their reports.
Media outlets Oneindia, Republic World, News 24, India TV, NDTV MP Chhattisgarh posted videos on their YouTube channels where they announced her death. The claim was also made from the X handles of NDTV, Republic Bharat and propaganda platform Opinida.
Later, some of the outlets deleted or updated the reports or posts.
YouTuber Dhruv Rathee also claimed that the wife of Nepal’s former PM Jhalanath Khanal had died, based on the Live Mint report.
The claim that she has died is also viral on Instagram.
Fact Check
Alt News did a keyword search to find out more about the reported incident. We found a report published on September 10 by the Nepali digital media outlet, Setopati. It stated that the wife of former Prime Minister and Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) leader Jhala Nath Khanal was undergoing treatment at Kirtipur Hospital for burns.
The report quoted politician Jeevan Ram Shrestha and a hospital source as saying that Ravi Laxmi’s condition had been improving.
The report further states that Ravi Laxmi was at home with her son Nirbhik when the protesters set the house on fire on September 9. After being rescued, she was taken to the Nepal Army Hospital in Chhauni initially. Later she was shifted to Kirtipur Hospital for further treatment.
Apart from this, PTI (Press Trust of India) also reported that Ravi Laxmi Chitrakar, wife of former Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal, who was severely burnt, was in a critical condition and was undergoing treatment at a hospital.
In an interview with BBC News Nepali on September 11, former Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal spoke about the attack on his wife. He said that her condition was serious and she was undergoing treatment.
To sum up, at the time of this article being written, former Nepal Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal’s wife Ravi Laxmi Chitrakar is alive and recuperating from burn injuries. The Indian media falsely reported that she had died. Most of them also got her name wrong.
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