An old photo of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Manipur leader and his son at a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) event is being shared falsely claiming that they are the accused linking them to the viral video of two Kuki women paraded naked and sexually assaulted in Thoubal district by a mob in May 2023.
BOOM reached out to Thoubal Police who dismissed the viral claim stating that two people in the viral photo are not accused in the gang rape case.
A 26-second video surfaced on July 19, 2023, that went viral showing the two Kuki women being stripped naked and groped by a violent mob and taken towards a paddy field on May 4, 2023, a day after violence erupted in Manipur after clashes broke out between Kuki and the Meitei community. Scroll reported that a zero FIR was filed in the Saikul police station against 800-1000 "unknown miscreants" on May 18, 2023. The Manipur Police has since arrested six people in relation to this case, including Huirem Herodas, the main culprit who was seen in the viral video.
A collage of photos of the accused in the viral video and a photo of two people wearing RSS outfits was tweeted by Subhashini Ali, Member Polit Bureau, Communist Party of India (Marxist) with the caption, "They are the Manipur accused. Recognise them by their clothes. यह मणिपुर कर आरोपित हैं। इन्हें कपड़ो से पहचानो"
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Ali later tweeted apologising for tweeting the false claim, however, she has not deleted the viral tweet as of writing this article.
The same collage photo is being shared on Facebook with the same false claim.
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the two people in the viral photo at an RSS event are not accused in the Manipur gang rape case as being falsely claimed. The viral photo of Chidananda Singh, State Vice President, BJP Manipur, and his son is from October 16, 2022, at the RSS Path Sanchalan in Imphal, Manipur.
We did not find any reports stating that Singh or his son are named accused in the gang rape case or mentioned in the FIR in the case filed by Manipur Police. Manipur Police tweeted a statement denying that Singh and his son are accused in the case stating that they would be taking action against those posting the false claim.
Manipur police tweeted on July 23, 2023, with the caption, "*FIR registered for spreading false news:* On 23.07.2023, Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS), Manipur received a report from a functionary of a political party that a picture of him and his son collaged with a screenshot of the viral video of two women paraded, along with a caption that they were directly involved in the crime was uploaded in various social media platform."
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BOOM found the original post which has the viral photo that was posted on October 17, 2022, by Singh. Singh had posted it with the caption, "Path Sanchalan, RSS Imphal Jila, yesterday 16 October with my son Ch Sachinanda n cousin Ashoka."
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BOOM reached out to Singh who dismissed the false claim and stated that the viral photo is of him and his son was taken last year in Imphal during the RSS Path Sanchalan event in October 2022.
Singh also shared with us a copy of the complaint that he has filed with the police against false claims that are viral on social media linking him and his son to the gang rape case.
BOOM reached out to a source at the Thoubal police, who not wanting to be named confirmed to BOOM that six accused have been arrested in the sexual assault case and dismissed the claim that the two people in RSS outfits are accused in the case.