Old photo of protest over Nirbhaya case shared as clampdown on JNU students

In the backdrop of the ongoing protest by JNU students, a photograph has been shared widely on social media. It shows a young woman being attacked with a lathi by police personnel.

As can be seen, the above post has used the hashtag #JNU, taking a dig at the students of the varsity, with the message “ये पड़ा धोनी का 6 और गेंद स्टेडियम से बाहर”. The image has also been posted and shared on Twitter.

ये पड़ा धोनी का 6 और गेंद स्टेडियम से बाहर 😆 pic.twitter.com/kVCuXRvMxy

— गब्बर सिंह ( रामगढ़ वाले ) (@IntolerantMano2) November 19, 2019

Interestingly, the same photograph has also been shared by those targeting the government. The message accompanying the image reads, “देश को शर्मसार करती वीभत्स सच्चाई, जहां पूरी दुनिया अपने युवाओं को उच्च शिक्षा के लिए प्रोत्साहित कर रही है, वही भारत में उच्च शिक्षा को सब के लिए सुलभ एवं सस्ती बनाने के लिए संघर्ष कर रही लड़कियों को, जिन्हे संस्कृति के नाम पर शताब्दियों तक घर में कैद करके रखा गया, आज निर्दयता से पीटा जा रहा है. पुलिस एवं इनके राजनैतिक आकाओं को शर्म आनी चाहिए.” (The harsh truth, whereas the rest of the world is encouraging youth for higher education, in India, women protesting for affordable and accessible education, who have been locked up inside their homes for centuries, today are being mercilessly beaten up. Police and their political masters should hang their heads in shame- translation).

FACT CHECK: IMAGE DATES BACK TO 2012

The image in question is not recent and thus, does not pertain to the ongoing protest by JNU students. This particular photograph was published in news reports from December 2012. It may be recalled that in the same month, a massive protest had broken out in the national capital following the brutal rape and murder of Nirbhaya on December 16, 2012. Alt News reverse-searched the photograph on Google in order to ascertain its origin.

The image is from Raisina Hill, where protesters had gathered in large numbers, and the police had resorted to lathicharge to quell the unrest. Alt News found the image published in news reports of the Hindustan Times and India Today. On further probing, Alt News found the photograph on the website of Reuters. It was clicked by Adnan Abidi on December 22, 2012.

It may thus be noted that this photograph is not representative of the ongoing protest by JNU students. It pertains to the protest over the Nirbhaya case, and was clicked in December 2012. In another instance, a photo of CPI leader Annie Raja was shared as a protesting JNU student. Also, random images of young women found online were circulated to malign JNU students.