FPJ Fact Check: Did Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka really hug 'fake bhabhi' of Hathras victim?

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi last week met the family members of a 19-year-old Dalit woman who was allegedly gang-raped and killed in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district.

On the day the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the probe in the case on Saturday, several media reports claimed that one of the relatives at the victim's home, who claimed to be her 'bhabhi' or sister-in-law had Naxal connection. The reports claimed that Uttar Pradesh Police was looking for the woman.

Here is one such report by a Hindi TV channel:

The report said that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) which is probing the Hathras case found a Naxal connection and identified a woman who allegedly posed as victim’s sister in law and stayed at her home for a week.

On the basis of the report, some Twitter users claimed that the woman hugged by Congress Priyanka Gandhi during her visit to the victim's home was the same "fake bhabhi."

Woman comes forward

The woman was later identified in reports as Dr Rajkumari Bansal, a physician by profession works at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur.

According to this Network 18 report, the woman said it was all ‘cooked up’ story by some media channels and she never claimed to be the victim's sister-in-law.

“I was present there (at victim’s house) and if someone identifies me as fake sister in law of the victim, I can’t help,” she said. “Did I say that I am the sister in law of the victim. I am not illiterate, I only talk on the basis of evidence."

The woman told the Indian Express that police had take photos of her and her and her identity documents. The doctor she had gone to Hathras as she was moved by the family’s plight and wanted to extend moral and financial support.

“After I saw how women reporters were voicing the family’s concern, I got the courage to go there and contribute, whatever little I could,” she said.

What does the police say?

Indian Express quoted Inspector General, Aligarh Range, Piyush Mordia as saying that the police did not have any plans to question the woman.

“When I had gone to the victim’s house, the woman was present. The victim’s sister-in-law told us she was their relative and had come from Jabalpur. The woman claimed to be a social worker,” he said.

Did Rahul, Priyanka really hug fake bhabhi of Hathras victim?

As police and the woman have clarified that she did not claim to be the victim's daughter-in-law, so the question of mistaken identity does not arise. The picture of Priyanka Gandhi with hugging a woman that went viral was with the victim's mother and not with her sister in law as many Twitter users claimed.

As this report says, Priyanka Gandhi hugged the mother of the victim, at the latter's residence during her Hathras visit.

Conclusion

The claim that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka met a "fake bhabhi" is not true as reports and statements by various people prove.