Fact Check: Image of Hindu Sadhvi ‘married’ to a Muslim man is edited

Hyderabad: An image allegedly depicting a Hindu Sadhvi with a man in a beard wearing a Muslim skull cap is circulating on social media, accompanied by claims that the Sadhvi married the Muslim man.

A Hindu Sadhvi is a female ascetic or saint who has renounced worldly life to pursue a spiritual path in Hinduism.

An X user shared the image and wrote, “Blind devotees, congratulations to your new brother-in-law. Sadhvi Rashmika married Naeem Khan. Happy marriage to Sadhvi Rashmika, this month is very bad for you.” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false as the image was edited. The original photo shows BJP MLA from Jaipur, Balmukund Acharya instead of the ‘woman’.

Upon conducting a reverse image search, we found that Balmukund Acharya, a BJP leader and MLA from Jaipur’s Hawa Mahal Constituency, posted the image. Acharya shared the image on his official Facebook account on December 6, 2023, and mentioned that it was taken in his election office.

Here is the comparison of the original and edited images.

We also found the skullcap man featured in several photos posted by Acharya on his Instagram account on December 5, 2023. He stated in the caption that the people from the Muslim community of various institutions had welcomed and congratulated him on his victory

According to the website of MyNeta, Balmukund won the Assembly election from Rajasthan’s Hawa Mahal constituency in the 2023 State Assembly election.

Hence, we conclude that the viral image is edited. The claim that the image shows a Hindu Sadhvi marrying a Muslim man is false.