(Editor's Note: The story was first published on 26 September 2022 and is being republished from The Quint's archives in light of the same claims resurfacing again.)
A photo of a young woman with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is going viral on social media with the claim that the latter met with Amulya Leona Noronha, a student from Bengaluru, who was arrested in 2020 after she chanted 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans on stage in the presence of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi.
The claim comes amid the Congress party's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' during which Gandhi visited Ernakulam, Kerala, on 21 September.
However, this is not true. The photo shows Miva Jolly, the general secretary of the Kerala Students' Union (KSU) for the Ernakulam district, with Gandhi and not Amulya Leona.
WHAT WE FOUND
On conducting a reverse image search of the photo, we came across the same picture uploaded on Instagram by the handle @miva_andreleo on 21 September 2022.
This account belonged to Miva Jolly, the general secretary of the KSU for the Ernakulam district.
She had also uploaded a video where she can be seen walking alongside Gandhi.
Jolly's friend, Mary Aleena Kondody, also told The Quint that the girl seen with Gandhi is Miva Jolly from Kochi and the claim about her being Amulya Leona Noronha from Bengaluru is completely false.
Jolly also uploaded a video on her Instagram to dismiss these claims. She stated that she met Rahul Gandhi during the ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' when he visited Ernakulam and clicked a picture with him.
She also added that she has been misidentified as the girl who shouted 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans because of a similar haircut.
We also compared the pictures of Jolly with Leona and noticed that these two are two different people.
We have reached out to Miva Jolly and the story will be updated once we receive a response.
Meanwhile, Congress Member of Parliament Jairam Ramesh tweeted saying that the Congress MP Hibi Eden has filed a police complaint against BJP leader Priti Gandhi for sharing "fake and distorted news".
Clearly, Rahul Gandhi met Miva Jolly from Kochi and not Amulya Leona Noronha, who chanted 'pro-Pakistan' slogans in 2020.
(Update: The story has been updated to reflect that Congress MP Hibi Eden has filed a police complaint against BJP leader Priti Gandhi.)
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