An image of Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad with Bihar based Kiran Yadav, a popular social media user, has surfaced with claims where the latter has been misidentified as the infamous 'naxal bhabhi' of Hathras. BOOM reached out to Aazad who clarified that the photograph was taken in 2019 in Ambala, when the Dalit leader visited Yadav's house.
Kiran Yadav has gained a large following online among the Hindi heartland for her political takes that are critical of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The presence of Rajkumari Bansal, a doctor from Jabalpur, at the Hathras victim's house had stirred up a controversy after news channels initially identified her to be the sister-in-law of the victim, who was allegedly gangraped by four men in September and succumbed to her injuries later. However, it was later revealed that Bansal is not related to the victim's family. Several right-wing social media users have since infamously given her the moniker 'naxal bhabhi'.
Two images featuring a Goa Congress leader Pratibha Borkar and the victim's mother hugging Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were earlier viral with the same narrative, where they had been misidentified as Bansal. Read BOOM's fact checked stories here and here.
Also Read:Photo of Goa Congress Leader Falsely Shared As 'Naxal Bhabhi' In Hathras
Also Read:No, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Is Not Hugging 'Naxal Bhabhi' In This Photo
The image where Aazad can be seen with Kiran Yadav has been captioned on Twitter as, "Have you understood, who is with Hathras sister-in-law? Realised the Congress Connection." (Original text in Hindi: ये हाथरस वाली भौजी के साथ कौन है कुछ समझे; कांग्रेस कनेक्शन समझ में आया)
Click here for an archive of the image.
The image is viral on Twitter and Facebook with the same narrative. Click here for an archive.
Fact Check
BOOM reached out to Aazad, national president of Bhim Army, who identified the woman photographed beside him as Kiran Yadav, a popular Facebook user from Hajipur, Bihar. Aazad told BOOM, "This photo was taken sometime in 2019. I had gone to Ambala to visit Kiran Yadav's family. The photograph was clicked in her home in Ambala. Kiran is like my sister and we are very close to each other. There are other pictures with Kiran's sons as well." Aazad shared with BOOM an image of Yadav's family with him taken on the same day.
In fact, Aazad and Yadav were present at a press conference together in Bihar on October 14. An image of which was shared with BOOM. Yadav can be seen sitting in the background, as Aazad addresses the media.
BOOM however could not find the viral image on any of Yadav's social media accounts. Aazad clarified, "This photograph was there in Kiran Yadav's older social media profiles, which were deactivated." With over 10 lakh followers on Facebook Kiran Yadav hit headlines in 2017. According to reports, Yadav's earlier Facebook profiles were deactivated.
We also reached out to Rajkumari Bansal who confirmed that she met Aazad at Hathras for the first time. She told BOOM, "I did not know Chandrashekhar Azad in personal capacity before we met at Hathras. I had introduced myself to him when he was there at Hathras." Click here to read more.