Authors
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.
Four days after the Shahdara assault case, where a 20-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped, thrashed and sexually assaulted by 11 members of a family including minors, in New Delhi’s Shahdara area, social media is rife with rumours that the young woman had ended her life. Newschecker has confirmed with the Delhi police that the claim is false and that the victim is safe.
On January 26, a woman was allegedly abducted, gangraped and paraded on the streets of Kasturba Nagar by 11 accused belonging to the same family. The woman, who is married and has a child, was garlanded with shoes by the abusers who lived in the neighbourhood of her maternal home, who also chopped her hair and blackened her face.
Police said that the woman had earlier spurned the advances of a boy from the neighbourhood, who is said to have killed himself in November over the rejection. “His family blamed the survivor (woman) for it. The family alleged that it was because of her that the boy took the extreme step. To exact revenge on her, the family members allegedly abducted her. They wanted to teach her a lesson,” a senior police official had said, regarding the possible motive behind the Shahdara assault case.
The Delhi police, on Saturday said that they arrested all 11 members who were involved in the Shahdara Assault, including 9 women and 2 minors and said that more arrests would be made.
On Monday, January 31, however, Twitter was rife with the visuals of the Shahdara assault, and social media platforms were rife with claims identifying the woman as a Sikh, and that she had ended her life. Several posts blamed the Delhi government for the plight of the Sikh girl, with the hashtag ‘Delhikimodel’ and ‘Arvind Kejriwal’. Remember that AAP is one of the political parties in the Punjab fray, hoping to wrest power from ruling Congress in the upcoming polls in the state.
It is in this context that several social media users shared the claim that the young woman had killed herself.
Fact check/Verification
To confirm if the young woman who was subjected to the shocking Shahdara assault killed herself, Newschecker looked up the keywords ‘Shahdara assault’ & ‘woman kills herself’ on Google. The search yielded nothing, and we realised that the information was not reported by any media organisation.
On researching further, Newschecker found out that the survivor is undergoing counselling in a safe house by the Delhi police to overcome the trauma she faced.
Hence, we reached out to the Delhi Police PRO who directed us to a statement released by R Sathiyasundaram, DCP Shahdara, confirming that it was a rumour.
“Several people are spreading rumours and misinformation on social media and are also sharing her identity and are trying to give it a communal colour. Many are also spreading rumours that the victim has killed herself. This is wrong, blatantly false information. Our officer just met the young woman, and she is safe. Legal action will be taken against all those spreading misinformation,” R Sathiyasundaram said in the video statement.
Also read: Did Rahul Gandhi Have Food With Face Mask On? No, Misleading Claim Resurfaces Ahead Of Elections
Conclusion
The claim that the survivor of the Shahdara assault, who was subjected to brutal assault and sexual abuse has killed herself, is false and has no basis in facts.
Result: False/Fabricated
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Authors
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.
