Girl in photo with Rahul Gandhi is not Amulya Leona booked for saying 'Pakistan Zindabad'

Hyderabad: A photo of Rahul Gandi from the Congress party's Bharat Jodo Yatra hugging a girl is being shared with the claim that the girl is Amulya Leona who was booked for sedition along with other charges of the Indian Penal Code.

Amulya, a journalism student, had actively participated in the nationwide protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act. She was arrested on 20 February 2022 for raising 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogan at an event in Bengaluru in the presence of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi. Owaisi and other men on the stage had tried to snatch away her microphone and prevent her from speaking.

Priti Gandhi, a BJP karykarta, criticised the Bharat Jodo Yatra and shared two photos—one of Rahul Gandhi with a young girl and another of Amulya Leona. She wrote, "Look carefully. Not Bharat Jodo, this is Bharat Todo!!"

A Twitter user also made the same claim. (Archive)

Click here to view the post.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that Priti Gandhi deleted the post after being warned of legal action by Supriya Shrinate, the chairperson of Congress' social media and digital platforms. Shrinate said that the girl in the photo with Rahul Gandhi is Miva Andreleo, not Amulya Leona.

Taking this as a cue, we searched Instagram for Miva Andreleo and found many photos and videos from the Bharat Jodo Yatra posted by her. We also found the viral photo of Rahul Gandhi hugging her with the caption, "HAPPIEST MOMENT."

She has also posted a video in which she can be seen walking with Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

It is evident that the girl in the viral photo is Miva Andreleo and not Amulya Leona. Hence, the claim is false.