An image of Chennai-based student activist Valarmathi is viral with netizens misidentifying her as Amulya Leona, arrested earlier for chanting Pakistan Zindabad slogans, to falsely claim that the latter was present at the ongoing farmers' protest.
Amulya Leona, 19, an undergraduate student from Bengaluru, used various social media platforms to mobilise support for the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in Karnataka. She was arrested on February 20, 2020, when she chanted 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans during a speech at an All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul muslimeen (AIMIM) meeting. The incident took place at a public meeting against the CAA organised by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi in Bengaluru. Leona got bail after serving 110 days in jail, facing a number of sedition charges.
The posts viral on social media have shared two images- one shows activist Valarmathi posing for a picture with farmer union members and the other image shows Amulya Leona with Asaduddin Owaisi on stage.
The caption viral on Facebook reads, "The same girl in Farmers protest .... Who raised Pakistan Zindabad in MIM meeting .... What is this connection ... Who are the forces behind this ....All the same faces seen in every Anti National protest.''
Archive of such posts can be seen here and here.
It has also being shared on Twitter along with images of Kafeel Khan and Sabrimala's Bindu Ammini. The caption of the tweet reads, "Sabarimala desecrator, UP infants death issue Kafeel khan, "pakistan zindabad" nutcase amulya..what the hell are all these random haters doing in farmers protest Face with rolling eyes"
Archive can be seen here.
The post is viral in Tamil from January with a similar narrative. The caption reads, "Pakistan Zindabad Amulya chanted. What is the use of Delhi struggle." (Original text: "பாகிஸ்தான் ஜிந்தாபாத்'' கோஷம் போட்ட அமுல்யாக்கு டெல்லி போராடத்துல என்ன வேலை...")
Archive can be seen here.
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Fact Check
BOOM ran a reverse image search on both the images and could ascertain that the viral image misidentified as Amulya Leona is of a student activist from Chennai Valarmathi.
BOOM ran a reverse image search on the above picture and found the same image along with a few other images on the Facebook page of Anti Imperialist Movement- AIM from January 25. The caption of the post in Tamil reads, "Representatives from Tamil Nadu to Delhi farmers protest field. Public Welfare Student Awakening Movement (SUMS) Women's Awakening Movement (WUM) Anti-Imperialist Movement (AIM) Democratic Rights Protection Committee (CPDR) . Comrades with Professor Jagmohan Singh, relative of Martyr Bhagat Singh at Tikri border.''
BOOM reached out to AIM who confirmed that the woman in the photographs is Valarmathi, a student activist from Chennai. A representative from AIM said, "She represents Students Uprising Movement for Social welfare (SUMS) and it is a photo taken at the farmers' protest in Singhu Border. The person seen with them is the son-in-law of Shaheed Bhagath Singh professor Jagmohan Singh." They confirmed that the images are from a visit by the AIM members and the other mentioned organisations to support the protesting farmers in Delhi.
Further, we searched for Valarmathi's profile on Facebook and found her Facebook profile. Valarmathi shared the same images at the Delhi border on the platform on January 26.
BOOM also reached out to Valarmathi, who confirmed that she was present at the protest site. She further said that she is not related to Amulya and has no knowledge about Amulya's presence at the protest site when she visited with her team in Delhi. "You can see the same images and a few videos on my Facebook profile from January 25 and 26 where I represented the SUMS. We went to participate in the tractor rally on January 26 and returned on January 27; we represented a number of organisations from Tamil Nadu,'' Valarmathi told BOOM.
We also found an image and a video in her album from the farmers' tractor rally on January 26.
The second image of Amulya Leona was found in an article by The Hans India from February 20, 2020. According to the report, the event was held to protest against the CAA, NRC and NRP in Bengaluru where a woman named Amulya Leona raised 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogan in the presence of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. In the image, Owaisi is seen rushing to snatch the microphone from the Leona's hands and was joined by others who tried to remove her from the stage. After this incident, she was charged with sedition for raising Pro-Pakistani slogan and spent almost four months in jail before getting bail.
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