Amid the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur, a video emerged on social media showing a mob sexually assaulting two women in the state in May. The video sparked widespread condemnation, leading to protests in multiple cities across the nation.
Against this backdrop, a group of images showing protesters taking over the streets is widely shared on social media linking it to Manipur violence. Among the four images shared in the post, three depict the use of water cannons on protesters, while the fourth image shows people standing on a bus amidst massive crowds.
The post is shared on Facebook with a caption: “Thousands of Indians came on the streets to protest against brutal rapes of Kuki women in Manipur demanding action from the government. The protesters asked why the government was sleeping for two months and did nothing to stop the rapes and killings”.
Here’s the link to the above post.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be FALSE.
Doing a Reverse Image Search, the NM team found the image showing two water cannons being sprayed on protesters in the Reuters photo gallery, dated December 22, 2012. The caption reads: “Police use water cannons to disperse demonstrators near the presidential palace during a protest rally in New Delhi on December 22, 2012. Indian police used batons, tear gas, and water cannon to turn back thousands of people marching on the presidential palace on Saturday in intensifying protests against the gangrape of a woman on the streets and on social media.” Reuters has also posted numerous other images from the 2012 protests.
The second image of police personnel standing near barricades and using water cannons on demonstrators was found in The New York Times report, dated December 22, 2012, with a caption: “The police used water cannons on demonstrators gathered in India’s capital city on Saturday.” The report also highlighted that on December 22, thousands of demonstrators had assembled in New Delhi to demand justice and improved law enforcement in the gangrape case.
The third image of people standing on the bus was discovered in a Times Now report in 2020, featuring 11 images related to the 2012 gang-rape case. The caption accompanying the image in the report emphasised: “The brutal gang rape and torture of the paramedical student on December 16, 2012, sparked a nationwide uproar.”
The fourth image was found in a report by The News Minute in 2020, focusing on the protests surrounding the Nirbhaya case. The protest aimed to address issues of violence against women, demands for changes in the law, and the status of the case.
On December 16, a tragic incident occurred where a 23-year-old woman was brutally assaulted and gang-raped by six men inside a moving bus in Delhi. Sadly, she succumbed to her injuries a few days later, leading to widespread protests across the country.
Thus, it is evident from the above information that old images of the 2012 Nirbhaya protests are falsely linked to Manipur Violence.
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