Viral padlocked grave image is from India, not Pakistan
The padlocked grave, an image of which was being linked by the Indian media to rising necrophilia cases in Pakistan, is actually from a cemetery in the Indian state of Hyderabad, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Monday.
The reports of the Indian media claimed that the image was from Pakistan, adding that parents in Pakistan had been locking their daughters’ graves in order to prevent their rape.
Several major news organisations in India such as ANI, Times of India, News18, Times Now, NDTV and The Print broadcasted the news using the same image. The image had also been widely circulated on social media.
Pakistani parents lock daughters' graves to avoid rape
— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) April 29, 2023
Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/2vbtYavyj5#Pakistan #necrophiliacases #sexualharassment #crime pic.twitter.com/1AndHMUXlZ
Pakistani parents lock daughters' graves to avoid rape https://t.co/YarziUwwWI
— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) April 29, 2023
It has, however, been revealed in the investigations of Indian journalist Muhammad Zubair that the grave is actually from a local cemetery in Madannapet in the Indian state of Hyderabad.
'South Asia's Leading Multimedia News Agency' @ANI was the first to spread this FAKE NEWS in India, This ANI feed was forwarded to several News media which was blindly reshared by Hindi/English News Channels without verifying it themselves. This is the state of our Indian media. https://t.co/j06Gue1IlM
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) April 30, 2023
Here is @AltNews Fact Check : https://t.co/Vp5TlTf6UJ
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) April 30, 2023
According to a local resident, the grave is of an elderly woman who had died in her seventies. Her son had built an iron grille on the grave 40 days after her death to prevent further burials in the grave.