This image does NOT show murdered and raped Meitei woman in Manipur; Image is old and unrelated

The image dates back to 2022 showing an honor killing incident from Mathura. It has no relation with the ongoing violence in Manipur.

An ongoing ethnic clash between the non-tribal Meitei people and Christian tribes, the Kukis and the Nagas in Manipur has resulted to a lot of violence in the state. The violence erupted on 3 May 2023 in India’s north-eastern state of Manipur that killed an estimated 54 people. It began in Churachandpur district during the “Tribal Solidarity March” called by the All Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM) to protest the granting of reservations to the majority Meitei community.

Amidst this, an image showing a woman’s dead body wrapped in plastic is widely circulating on social media with the claim that it shows the dead body of a woman from the Meitei community who was brutally raped and murdered by people from the Kuki tribe in  Churachandpur district, Manipur.

The caption of the viral post states, “What is this then? A Meitei nurse working in Ccpur rape by kuki inside the hospital and brutally killed! #ManipurViolence #letthismadnessend.”

Tweet Link | Archive Link 

Fact Check-

We started our investigation by running a reverse image and keyword search on Google, whose results led us to a report published by Aaj Tak on 21 November 2022. According to the report, the body was found in a red trolley bag on the side of Yamuna Expressway in Mathura district. The name of the victim is Ayushi Yadav ( 21 ) from Delhi. This incident is said to be an incident of honor killing where she was shot by her father who later went missing.   

Times of India journalist Arvind Chauhan tweeted about this incident on 20 November 2022. Sharing the viral images, the tweet stated “Ayushi Yadav (21) had left home without informing anyone. When she returned, her father Nitesh Yadav shot her dead. Her body was packed in a suitcase & thrown in #Mathura. Father has been arrested.”

A report by NDTV stated, according to the police, Aayushi had married a man named Chhatrapal, from another caste, without telling her family. Nitesh Yadav allegedly shot his daughter dead, furious that she had “gone out for some days” without telling him. He was also enraged that she had married a man from a different caste.

Mathura Police has then issued a statement related to the incident on 21 November 2022. The clarification stated that the girl’s parents were later arrested along with the murder weapon and the vehicle used in the incident.

Fact Crescendo contacted Mathura’s ASP Martand Prakash Singh who confirmed to us that the incident is old dating back to 2022 and has no relation with the ongoing violence in Manipur. It was an incident of honor killing where the victims’ parents murdered their own daughter for marrying somebody from the different caste.”

Conclusion-

Thus it is clear that the viral image circulating on social media has no relation with the ongoing violence in Manipur. The girl in the image is not a rape and murder victim from the Meitei community in Manipur. The image shows a victim of honor killing in Mathura in 2022. The image has been falsely linked to the ongoing violence in Manipur. The viral claim is False.