A heartwarming incident from Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district where a Muslim man - Bababhai Pathan - performed Hindu rituals during the wedding ceremony of two sisters - Gauri and Savari, is being shared online falsely claiming that the sisters are orphans adopted by Pathan.
BOOM spoke to Pathan who said that Savita - the mother of the two young women - is alive and considers him as her Rakhi brother, whereas their father is estranged. Pathan stood in from the bride's side at the wedding as there was no male family member to perform religious rituals.
An image of the two girls crying and being consoled by Pathan on the day of their wedding is being shared falsely claiming that the two are orphans and Pathan had adopted them.
The caption of the viral post reads, "A Muslim man from Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, has adopted two orphan sisters and wedded them from his own expenses according to the Hindu rituals, has been widely praised for his humanitarian work across the state."
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We found that the image is being shared with the same misleading caption on Facebook.
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Scoop Whoop also misreported that the sisters were orphans stating that Pathan had adopted them,
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FACT-CHECK
We spoke to Bababhai Pathan who dismissed the claim that Gauri and Savari are orphans stating that their parents are alive. He further stated that their mother Savita Bhusari considers him as a brother and that their father does not live with the family.
"They (Gauri and Savari) are not orphans, both their parents are alive, however, their father no more stays with them. They live across the street and she (Savita) worked hard to educate and raise them up. She (Savita) considers me as a brother and from years has been tying me a rakhi, as her brother is also no more," Pathan told BOOM
Pathan who hails from Bodhegaon village in Ahmednagar district had helped organise the weddings of the two sisters - Gauri and Savari which was held on August 13, 2020, and got them married according to Hindu customs.
Pathan performed the Hindu ritual of Kanyadaan, where a patriarch from the bride's side gives away the bride to the groom.
We also found local news reports on the incident, which stated that Savita Bhusari's husband had left her and their daughters several years ago, and when the time came to get them married, Pathan stepped in and assumed the role of standing in from the girls' side.
In this news report by Zee 24 Tass on the marriage, Savita can be seen at the 1.05 timestamp talk about Pathan and state that he stood in place of the bride's side at the wedding as there was no male family member to perform the necessary rituals.
"Bababhai Pathan is like a brother, for my daughters wedding there was a lot of mess, as there was no one behind me, my brother is dead and my parents also. We both are sisters, and as there was no male to stand in, and as there was no brother or father, that time there was Baba Pathan shab..," Savita is on video as saying.
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