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| - This woman is a survivor of hate crime, NOT a victim of 'love jihad'
India Today's investigation found that the woman in the photo is a survivor of a hate crime in England, and the attacker was a White man.
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India Today Fact Check
Resham Khan, the woman in the photo, was acid-attacked by a White man in London in 2017.
In Short
- An acid attack survivor's photos were recently shared with insinuations of 'love jihad'
- The woman in the photo is a survivor of a hate crime in England
- After surviving the attack, she had posted her 'before and after' photos on social media
A disturbing set of photos of a woman, before and after what appears to be an acid attack, has been making the rounds online. The photos have also been accompanied by insinuations of “Love Jihad”, a far-right conspiracy theory about how Muslim Men seduce Hindu women to convert them to Islam.
“Her Abdul, too, was different. He was a painter, what a painting, congrats,” read the grisly post. At the time of writing this, the post had been shared by more than four hundred people.
The name “Abdul” is used by the Hindu right as a dog whistle for Muslim men and “Love Jihad”. The archived version of the post can be seen here.
India Today’s investigation found that the woman in the photo is a survivor of a hate crime in England, and the attacker was a White man.
THE SURVIVOR'S IDENTITY
No name or details of the survivor were mentioned in any of the posts. With the help of a Google reverse image search, we found many news websites that used the photos in their reports.
According to an October 2017 news report published in the Independent, the survivor's name was Resham Khan and this incident happened in London, England. Reportedly, on June 21, 2017, on Khan’s twenty-first birthday, she and her cousin Jameel Mukhtar were attacked by a stranger.
Per the Independent, they were in Beckton in east London when a man doused them with a corrosive liquid through the window of their car. Both of them suffered severe injuries.
Khan sustained heavy scarring on her face and eyes. Mukhtar’s injuries included permanent scarring on his head, neck, and body. He also lost hearing in one ear.
Khan was an aspiring model and a student. After surviving the attack, she posted her photos on social media, which at the time made the news. One of those photos is part of the now viral posts.
THE ATTACKER
According to The Guardian, a man called John Tomlin attacked Khan and her cousin. He was caught on CCTV footage carrying out the attack. Reportedly, one month after the attack, he handed himself to the police. Tomlin, who pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent and inflicting grievous bodily harm, was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment.
Mukhtar said he and his cousin were targeted because of their religion. “It’s definitely a hate crime. I believe it’s something to do with Islamophobia. Maybe he’s got it in for Muslims because of the things that have been going on lately,” he said in 2018.
Tomlin, however, reportedly told the police that he was "hearing voices in my head". As per the Independent, he was diagnosed as emotionally unstable with a personality disorder and has a number of previous convictions, including violent offences, robbery, burglaries and theft.
Thus, it’s clear that the viral post was shared with a false communal spin.
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