No, 'Trishul' Manoeuvre Wasn't Performed by IAF at Maha Kumbh Mela's Last Day

This photo predates Maha Shivratri 2025 and is unrelated to Maha Kumbh mela.

An old and unrelated image is going viral to claim that it shows a 'Trishul' manoeuvre performed by IAF at Maha Kumbh Mela's last day.

(Photo:The Quint)

An image showing an air show by fighter jets forming a trishul is going viral on social media to claim that this happened on Maha Kumbh mela's last day in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

The gathering's last day also coincided with Maha Shivratri celebrations on 26 February.

An archive can be seen here.

(source: IG/screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here, here and here.)

What's the truth?: This photo has been on the internet since 2019 which predates Maha Shivratri 2025.

• So clearly, it is also unrelated to Maha Kumbh mela 2025.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a reverse image search on this viral image but it did not bring up any credible report to support the claim.

• The results showed us old posts from 2019 and 2020 carrying the same image, which proves that it is unrelated to Maha Kumbh mela 2025.

Air Show at Maha Kumbh Mela 2025: The Indian Air Force conducted an air show over the Maha Kumbh Mela Kshetra on the last Amrit Snan.

• We conducted a relevant keyword search on Google which led us to several reports about this.

• ANI, India Today, NDTV and Times of India carried visuals of the air show, but they did not match with the viral image.

Here's a comparison between the two.

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

Sukhois Exhibiting Trishul Manoeuvre in the Past: We performed a relevant keyword search which led us to several reports about the Indian Air Force performing the 'Trishul formation' of the Maneuver during the Republic Day parade events.

• Three SU-30 MKIs make this formation, also similar to what is mentioned in the claim.

• But none of these formations looked similar to the formation seen in the viral photo.

• You can see the formation from these years: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2016 and 2008.

• Here's a comparison with some of the visuals.

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

Conclusion: An old and unrelated image is going viral to claim that it shows a 'Trishul' manoeuvre performed by IAF at Maha Kumbh Mela's last day.

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