A photo from 2018 of Tejashwi Yadav participating in a candle march as a peaceful protest against the murder of a businessman is viral claiming the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader led a march demanding justice for a 20-year-old woman, burnt alive in Vaishali, Bihar for attempting to stop three men from stalking her.
The photo is being linked to the brutal killing of 20-year-old Gulnaz Khatun who was set ablaze in Rasulpur Habib village of Vaishali district on October 30, 2020, by three men who were allegedly stalking and threatening her. She succumbed to her injuries on November 15, 2020, post which there were calls for justice for the victim on social media and #JusticeForGulnaz started trending on Twitter as the family members sat in protest demanding the arrest of the accused. One of the accused has been arrested while the other two men are absconding, local police told BOOM.
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In the viral image, Yadav can be seen participating in a candlelight march with several supporters. The Hindi caption on the post translates to, "Tejashwi has joined the crowd with candles for a march for justice for Bihar's daughter Gulnaz. Tejashwi's support will strengthen the fight for justice and Insha Allah Gulnaz will get justice. #JusticeforGulnaz"
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(In Hindi - बिहार की बेटी गुलनाज़ के इंसाफ के लिए #Tejashwi #Yadav कैंडल मार्च के साथ सड़क पर उतर गए हैं। तेजस्वी भैया के आने से इस लड़ाई में मज़बूती मिलेगी और इंशा अल्लाह गुलनाज़ को इंसाफ मिलेगे। #JusticeforGulnaz)
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Viral on Facebook
On searching with the same caption on Facebook, we found that the viral photo was being shared with the false claim.
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FACT-CHECK
A reverse image search for the image showed news reports from December 2018, when Tejashwi Yadav participated in a candlelight march to protest against the murder of a businessman, Gunjan Khemka. The march was attended by Yadav and several other Rashtriya Janata Dal leaders and other businessmen from Patna.
Yadav was joined by businessmen and traders during the candle march in Bihar's capital demanding justice for the murdered young businessman reported Zee News on December 24, 2018. One can notice the same people standing beside Yadav with candles as in the viral photo.
Yadav too tweeted photos in 2018 from the same protest march showing support to the traders community of Bihar and hitting out at the Nitish Kumar led Janata Dal (United) - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for the lack of law and order in the state.
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