A set of three images, two of them showing Jyoti Kumari Paswan, who made headlines after a 1200 km long cycle journey from Gurugram to Darbhanga, is viral with false claims that she has been brutally raped and murdered in Bihar's Darbhanga. The third image shows the body of a girl lying face-down.
BOOM found that the image of the body of a minor girl is of Paswan's namesake, who reportedly died of suffocation due to electrocution when she had gone to pluck mangoes at an orchard in Bihar. We also contacted Paswan and found that the claims of her death were false.
Paswan rode from Gurugram to her village Sirhulli in Darbhanga with her father as a pillion making it to headlines across the world during the lockdown in May. US president Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump had also applauded Paswan in a tweet.
A Hindi caption with the post, when translated, reads 'The brave Jyoti Paswan, who cycled with her father as pillion rider for over 1500 kms to Bihar was raped. The government of good-governance is just a mute spectator. The incident hasn't taken place in a rich household. A poor man's daughter has died'.
(Hindi: ज्योति पासवान , जो अपने पिता को 1500 किलो मीटर साईकिल चलाकर बिहार अपने घर लायी थी ! उस बहादुर लडकी को किसी शख्स ने अपने हवस का शिकार बना लिया! सुशासन की सरकार तमाशबीन बनी हुई है क्योंकि तमाशा किसी अमीर के घर में नहीं हुआ है! आम गरीब की बेटी शिकार हुई है।)
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BOOM has chosen not to share the post owing to its disturbing nature. The post can be viewed here and its archived version can be checked here and here.
We also received the same viral claim on our helpline number for verification.
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Fact Check
BOOM contacted local reporters in Bihar to get more information on the incident. We were told that the claims about Jyoti Kumari Paswan's death were false.
BOOM then contacted Paswan and found that claims of her alleged rape and murder were baseless. "I am fine and very much alive. Nothing has happened to me. The death of a girl by the same name has occurred far from where I stay. Her father's name is Ashok Paswan. Since we both share the same name, people thought it is me who has died," she told BOOM.
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Jyoti Paswan's namesake deceased
BOOM was able to confirm that the viral image of a girl lying lifeless is of Jyoti Kumari, who was found dead in an orchard on July 1. We reached out to the Station House Officer (SHO) of Pator OP village, Subhash Chandra Mandal, who confirmed that Kumari reportedly died of electrocution in the Pator OP village. Mandal also rubbished the viral social media claims about 'cycle girl' Jyoti Paswan's death.
"The deceased hailed from Pator village and her father's name is Ashok Paswan. According to the postmortem report, the reason for death is suffocation due to electrocution. The mark seen on her neck is a burn mark due to electric current," Mandal told BOOM.
According to a report by Hindustan 13-year old, Jyoti Kumari, who had gone to collect mangoes in an orchard was found dead on July 1.
According to Times of India report, the deceased's father alleged that one Arjun Mishra, raped and murdered the victim for stealing mangoes from his garden. The family of the deceased has also lodged an FIR regarding the same. "The father told the police that they found her body inside the orchard with ligature marks on her neck," Jaja Ali, Station House Office, Ashok Paper Mill police station told the newspaper. Reports further stated that suspecting it to be a case of rape and murder, irate villagers attacked the orchard owner's wife, following which police rushed in to bring the situation under control.
BOOM could not independently verify the cause of Jyoti Kumari's death.