Twitter and Facebook posts on Monday falsely claimed that the 21-year-old woman who was allegedly abducted and gang raped in Delhi's Kasturba nagar area has died by suicide.
BOOM spoke to the family of the survivor and the Delhi Police who denied the claims and said the woman was in a safe house with her husband and had not attempted suicide.
On January 26, a 20-year-old woman was allegedly abducted from her house in Delhi's Kasturba Nagar and gang raped by accused who the police say are her neighbours. The gang rape survivor's ordeal did not stop there as she was later tonsured, her face blackened and she was paraded in the area by the accused which included women who were present during the gang rape and allegedly encouraged the crime. Delhi Police have so far arrested nine accused including seven women and apprehended three minor boys and charged them with sexual assault, gangrape, abduction and several other charges.
The posts on social media include a screen-grab from the video shot of the woman's face blackened and paraded in the area with the text claiming she has died by suicide. The text, reads, "Delhi-based victim Sikh girl commits suicide".
FACT CHECK
BOOM spoke to the family of the gang rape survivor and the Delhi Police and both confirmed that she was safe and that the posts were making a false claim.
We first spoke to the survivor's uncle who said that while he had not spoken to her personally in two days, he was in touch with her husband who was staying with her in the safe house provided by the Delhi police. "We haven't been told anything about her dying or that she tried to attempt suicide. I spoke to her husband in the morning and he too did not mention anything," the woman's uncle said.
Speaking to BOOM, Manoj Pant, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Vivek Vihar, dismissed the rumours and said that the woman along with her husband and that the place was being protected by police officials round the clock. "I visited her on Monday after reading about the posts that she had died by suicide. She spoke to me and is safe. She has not even attempted suicide and is in the safe house with her husband," Pant said. He added that she was recovering and upon persuasion had told him what she would like to eat from outside. "We are providing them with food but I kept asking her whether there was something specific she would like to eat. She has told me and I am arranging for the same to be sent to her," he said. "The woman has been through a lot and so has her family. These rumours are adding to their trauma. We will look into those who are sharing these false posts."
R Sathiyasundaram, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Shahdara also dismissed the posts and said that the woman was safe. The Delhi police also posted a video appeal from the official handle where DCP Sathiyasundaram, asked people to not spread rumours and that action would be taken against those doing so.
The video appeal says, "There are several people sharing wrong and blatantly false information about the victim, revealing her identity and are also giving it a communal tone. We will take legal action against those posting such rumours and ask people to not share such posts."