Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
The three accused in the IIT-BHU gangrape case cutting cake and celebrating with BJP workers after their release on bail.
Fact
Only two accused have been released on bail. While they were welcomed with garlands on their release, the viral photo dates back to July, 2021, and shows one of the three accused, who is still in jail.
A photo purportedly showing three men cutting a cake has gone viral on social media with the claim that it showed the three accused in the IIT-BHU gangrape case cutting a cake and celebrating with BJP workers after they were released on bail. However, while there were reports of the accused being welcomed with garlands, Newschecker found that the viral image is in fact old, and shows one of the three accused, who is yet to be released from jai.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
IIT-BHU Gangrape Case
Three men allegedly raped a woman student of the Indian Institute of Technology-Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU) when she had come out of her hostel with a friend on the night of November 1, 2023. Anand alias Abhishek Chauhan, Kunal Pandey, and Saksham Patel, believed to be BJP workers of the Varanasi unit, were arrested in December last year. Opposition parties had recently targeted the Uttar Pradesh government after two of the three accused, Chauhan and Pandey, were reportedly released on bail, saying that it exposed the hypocrisy of the BJP-led dispensation’s claims about women’s security. The opposition’s attack came after reports of the accused being accorded a warm welcome following their release from jail.
Fact Check
Newschecker ran a reverse image search, which led us to this Aaj Tak report, dated September 1, 2024, carrying a clarification by BJP MLA, Saurabh Srivastava, that the viral photo was around five years old. According to Srivastava, the photo was from the pandemic period as confirmed by the mask seen around his neck, adding that he had to cut the cake as part of a programme and that he has no relation with the accused.
We then looked up Srivastava’s Instagram account, where we found a couple of photos uploaded on July 12, 2021, with the caption, translated from Hindi, reading, “Happy Birthday to BJP’s Metropolitan Vice President Mr. Madhukar Chitransh and young activist Mr. Saksham Singh Patel.”
Newschecker came across this Times of India report, dated January 2, 2024, stating that BJP’s Kashi region unit media in-charge had said that Pandey was convenor of BJP IT cell’s city unit while Saksham Patel was co-convenor. “However, in the aftermath of the criticism following the arrests, the local BJP functionaries are now reluctant to acknowledge the accused even as primary members of the party,” read the report, stating the party’s local functionaries claimed that the two accused had lost their positions when the IT cell’s city unit was dissolved in September 2023. According to an India Today report, dated January 1, 2024, the BJP’s district chief said that the party had expelled three of its workers after they were arrested by the Varanasi Police in connection with the molestation of an IIT-BHU student, while not revealing the arrested persons’ designations and roles in the party.
We further learnt that Chauhan and Pandey were released from a Varanasi jail last week after the Allahabad High Court granted bail to Chauhan on July 2 and to Pandey on July 4.
The third accused, Saksham Patel, is still in jail with the court set to review Patel’s bail application on September 14, 2024, which proves that the viral photo is old.
We got in contact with authorities at the Varanasi district jail, who, at the time of publishing this article, confirmed that Saksham Patel is still in judicial custody with his bail application hearing due in September, while the other two accused were released from jail last month on bail.
Also Read: Muslim Man Assaulted, Forced to Chant Jai Shri Ram? Old, Edited Video Viral With False Communal Spin
Conclusion
Old photo of one of the three accused men in the IIT-BHU gangrape case falsely shared as the three cutting cake and celebrating with BJP workers after they were released on bail.
Result: Missing Context
Source
Instagram post, Saurabh Srivastava, July 12, 2021
Conversation with authorities at the Varanasi district jail
If you would like us to fact-check a claim, give feedback or lodge a complaint, WhatsApp us at 9999499044 or email us at checkthis@newschecker.in. You can also visit the Contact Us page and fill out the form. Follow our WhatsApp channel for more updates
Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
