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| - Fact Check: No, this man standing next to BJP leaders is not the father of Hathras rape accused
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the man in the viral images is Shyam Prakash Dwivedi, a BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh. Dwivedi is the regional vice president of BJP Yuva Morcha's Kashi division.
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India Today Fact Check
The image is of BJP leader and vice president of the BJP Yuva Morcha's Kashi unit - Dr Shyam Prakash Dwivedi.
The death of a 19-year-old girl in Delhi on September 29, two weeks after she was brutalised in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, has sparked nationwide outrage and protests.
The state police arrested four accused - Sandeep, Ramu, Lavkush, and Ravi - in connection with the case. The accused are currently in police custody.
Amid rising cries for stringent punishment for the perpetrators, some images are viral on the internet with a claim that they show the father of one of the accused in the case along with some prominent BJP leaders. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh can be seen in these viral pictures.
The caption to one such post uploaded on Facebook in the Hindi language translates to English as, “Yogiji and Modiji with the father of Hathras gang rape accused Sandeep. Now the four accused will be saved.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the claim is false. The man in the viral images is Shyam Prakash Dwivedi, a BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh. Dwivedi is the regional vice president of BJP Yuva Morcha's Kashi division.
Similar claims are also viral in the Bangla language on Facebook.
The archived versions of similar posts can be seen here, here and here.
AFWA probe
With the help of reverse image search and appropriate keywords, we found the viral images uploaded on multiple Facebook pages in the name of Dr Shyam Praksh Dwivedi. We also found some more images of Dwivedi with other BJP leaders uploaded on these pages.
According to the about section of the pages, Dwivedi is a senior BJP leader from UP’s Prayagraj.
Further searches led us to multiple media reports about Dwivedi. According to reports published on September 16, 2020, by Zee News and DNA, Dwivedi is an accused in a 2019 gang-rape case. Prayagraj police registered a case against him on September 16.
The reports also confirmed that Dwivedi is the vice president of the BJP Yuva Morcha's Kashi unit.
Reportedly, on September 27, Samajwadi Party workers took a dig at Yogi government’s Operation Durachari initiative and put up controversial posters of Dwivedi near Subash Chowk in Prayagraj.
Under 'Operation Durachari', the UP government said it will put up posters of people accused of crimes against women at famous road crossings across the state.
Dwivedi also made headlines in 2016 after he announced a reward of Rs 1 crore to whoever cut off All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s tongue. Owaisi had allegedly said that he would never chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.
Though Dwivedi was suspended from BJP following this statement, he was later re-inducted in the party.
We also cross-checked the name of Hathras case accused, Sandeep’s father. According to an India Today report published on September 30, Sandeep’s father’s name is Narendra. As per the report, Narendra was also accused of assaulting the Hathras victim’s grandfather in 2001.
However, these viral photos are not of accused Sandeep’s father.
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