Photos of a female police officer, who died in a road accident, have gone viral with a false narrative of rape and murder in Punjab.
In an attempt to question the Congress’ outrage over the alleged rape in UP’s Hathras, where there is a BJP government, social media users have given a false spin to the death of a female constable in Amritsar, to insinuate that the Congress remains silent on similar incidents taking place in the party-led state of Punjab.
CLAIM
The photos were shared with several claims to insinuate that Constable Nomi was murdered after being raped.
One user tweeted the images with the caption, “Female Police Constable Raped and Killed in #India Punjab! (sic)“
Users also called out Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi’s silence on the alleged rape case.
You can view an archived version of the tweets here, here, here, and here.
The Quint also received a query on its WhatsApp tipline.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
The death of the female constable is a case of road accident and not rape and murder, as claimed.
A reverse image search led us to a report by Hindi daily, Dainik Savera Times, carrying the viral images.
The report stated that the body of a lady constable had been found in Amritsar. A keyword search of the same led us to several news reports on the incident.
A report by Tribune India, dated 1 October from Amritsar, stated, “A woman police constable, Nomi, posted at miscellaneous store keeping (MSK) branch here died, after a speedy SUV hit her scooter near Sangatpura village in the wee hours today.”
Speaking to The Quint, Deputy Commissioner of Police (City) Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar confirmed that the constable had died in a road accident.
“A Scorpio had hit the constable while she was going for her duty,” Bhullar stated.
The case has been registered with the rural police to further investigate the accident.
Evidently, the death of a female constable from Amritsar due to a road accident is being shared with a false spin of rape and murder.
(Editor’s Note: The Quint has not used the posts in the story due to its graphic nature.)
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)