Rajasthan: A Facebook user Ravindra Bharatiya posted a photo of a half-burnt women, claiming she was raped by ‘Rizwan Ansari’ in the Tonk district of Rajasthan. User wrote in Hindi “दिल दहलाने वाली यह तस्वीर राजस्थान के जिला #टोंक के #निवाई तहसील की है जहां १३ वर्षीया #पायल_जैन को उसी तहसील के #रिज़वान_अंसारी ने बलात्कार के बाद जिंदा जला दिया। राजस्थान सरकार और मीडिया चुप हैं, क्योंकि राजस्थान में फिलहाल चुनाव नहीं हैं। और भाड़े की सरकार तथा मीडिया के लिये जातीय समीकरण फिट नहीं बैठ रहा है। (This heart breaking photo is from Nivari tahsheel of Tonk district in Rajasthan, 23 year old Payal Jain was raped and burnt alive by Rizwan Ansari. Rajasthan government and Media is silent). (Archive)
The user has also made an appeal to his followers that not to give ‘angry reaction’, which will reduce his post reach. According to his Facebook profile, Ravindra Bhariya is from Lucknow of Uttar Pradesh.
Another user Ashok Kumar has posted the same photo, and wrote, “दिल दहलाने वाली यह तस्वीर राजस्थान के टोंक ज़िला निवाई तहसील की हैं,जहाँ १३ वर्षीय पायल को उसी तहसील के रिज़वान अन्सारी ने बलात्कार के बाद ज़िन्दा जला दिया। राजस्थान सरकार और मीडिया चुप हैं,क्यों?” (This hear breaking photo is from Nivari tahsheel of Tonk district in Rajasthan, 23-year-old Payal Jail was raped and burnt alive by Rizwan Ansari. Rajasthan government and Media is silent). (Archive)
FactO Check:
With Google reverse image search, we found few YouTube videos reporting the incident (here,& here). According to an article published in Nava Bharat, the body was first found on 29th SEP 2020. The viral photo is from the Gandhwani district of Madhya Pradesh, where the women’s friend wanted to get rid of her and got her killed, and burned the body with the help of his friend. According to the Police and charge sheet, accused Sohan has accepted the crime and the reason he told to the police was that he wanted to get rid of the women but she didn’t agree and Sohan was already married. So he planned her murder with his friend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzYCj1oPDmQ
We also found a Zee News article, published on 4th October. the caption reads “wanted to get rid of women when she was not convinced, the man got her killed with help of a friend.”
According to a fact check published by Factly, there was no rape reported and the FIR filed on the incident does not mention rape. Only sections 302, 201 and 34 of IPC were mentioned. The FIR can be read here
Image: Factly
Conclusion: In our investigation, the claim is found to be false, misleading and Islamophobic. Social media users should refrain from posting fake posts that push a communal angle.