Murder of child in Aligarh: Fact-checking social media claims

The body of a two and a half-year old girl was found on June 2 in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. The accused- Zahid and Aslam have been arrested by the police. Several netizens expressed outrage over the incident.

Many among those who tweeted about the incident have claimed that the young girl was raped before she was murdered. It has also been claimed that her eyes were gouged out and acid was poured on her body.

https://twitter.com/ThePlacardGuy/status/1136176867453669376

The above tweet has been retweeted close to 10,000 times so far. Others who asserted the same in their condemnation of the murder include Prashant Patel Umrao, Koena Mitra, Shefali Vaidya, and Raveena Tandon.

No mention of rape in the post-mortem report

The post-mortem report conducted on the deceased has no mention of rape. This was clarified by Aligarh police via a tweet, in response to a social media user who claimed that the victim had been raped.

According to Aligarh police, the post-mortem report reveals the victim was strangulated. Two persons- Zahid and Aslam were arrested and sent to jail. The financial dispute was the motive for the crime. The same was reiterated by SSP Aligarh in a video bite posted on Twitter by Aligarh police.

No acid poured, eyes not gouged out

Alt News contacted Akash Kulhary, SSP Aligarh who confirmed that the post-mortem report does not mention rape, adding, “The post-mortem report mentions a death by strangulation as the cause. The claims circulating on social media that the victim’s eyes were gouged out and her arm amputated are also false. Also, the claim that acid was poured on her body, is untrue. No such thing has occurred. The post-mortem report has been shared with the family of the victim.”

UPDATE: After this article was published on June 6, the post-mortem report of the victim was posted on social media. The report states, “right arm detached (amputated)…and nibbled by insect up to the limit that bone exposed at places”. Alt News contacted SSP Aligarh once again, who said that the victim’s right arm was amputated, but that the cause of amputation is not clear. The article has been updated accordingly.

OpIndia was among those who had falsely claimed that the victim’s eyes were gouged out.

The incident has resulted in an outpouring of rage, and rightly so. The brutality of the incident is shocking, to say the least. However, it may be noted that there is no mention of rape, and neither were the victim’s eyes gouged out nor acid poured on her body, as claimed on social media. The misinformation surrounding the incident, which has been shared by social media users has the potential to further exacerbate tension and mistrust. Alt News advises readers and followers to verify the information before sharing it on social media, particularly if it is of such sensitive nature.

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