On Saturday, April 25, the Ghazipur Police busted the false claims being made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding the death of a 16-year-old girl of the Vishwakarma community in the Katariya village.
In a tweet, the Leader of Opposition claimed that the girl was ‘raped and murdered’ and then her family was prevented from filing an FIR in the case. He went further and added that the incident is another addition to the “pattern” of violence against people of poor and backward caste communities.
Taking a strong objection to Rahul Gandhi’s attempts to spread misinformation, Ghazipur Police fact-checked the Congress prince. They posted that there was no mention of rape in the complaint made by the girl’s father.
कृपया सही तथ्यों से संज्ञानित हों
— Ghazipur Police (@ghazipurpolice) April 25, 2026
दिनांक 15.4.2026 की सुबह 5:44 बजे मृतका के पिता ने डायल 112 पर कॉल करके बताया था कि लड़की ने पुल से कूदकर आत्महत्या कर ली है ।
प्रकरण में मृतका के पिता की तहरीर पर दर्ज एफआईआर में भी रेप का कोई उल्लेख नहीं है।
मृतका के पीएम में भी कोई… https://t.co/ZbwIPG7Pal
Police posted that the 112 call and the complaint made by the girl’s father are nothing like what Rahul Gandhi is making the incident out to be. They added that the girl’s father had informed the police on a ‘Dial 112’ call that his daughter had jumped into the river from a bridge. The FIR made on the basis of the father’s complaint also has no mention of any rape. Nothing indicating sexual assault has been found in the postmortem examination of the victim. Reports indicated that the cause of death was found to be drowning.
Ghazipur police asked Rahul Gandhi not to spread baseless rumours that are unverified and not based on facts.
It is notable here that Rahul Gandhi’s sister Priyanka Vadra was also spreading similar rumours. She was fact-checked by the police too.
The police have arrested one suspect, Hariom Pandey, in connection with the murder/abetment to suicide, and ten others for stone-pelting during subsequent unrest. Further arrests are ongoing. Authorities urged the public to avoid spreading unverified rumours that could disturb social harmony.
It is notable here that not just Congress but Samajwadi Party leaders have also been trying to claim the incident was a ‘rape and murder’, despite the police arresting the accused for abetment of suicide and the postmortem ruling out any sexual assault. The caste identities of the victims and accused in the case have given the SP and Congress another opportunity to peddle a casteist agenda.
On Wednesday, April 22, several people, including some policemen, were injured in a commotion when Samajwadi Party leaders were stopped by locals from meeting the victim’s family in Katariya village.
