Does This Viral Image Show Riniki Bhuyan Sharma’s UAE Passport? A Fact-Check

The viral image actually shows an edited Emirates ID card.

Fact-Check | The image has been altered and is being shared on the internet.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A document carrying the name of businesswoman Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, is being shared as an evidence of her having an United Arab Emirates (UAE) passport.

The context?: The claim stems from a press conference hosted by Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera on 5 April, where he levelled allegations against Riniki Bhuyan Sharma claiming that she possessed multiple passports.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)

The same document is going viral on other platforms like Facebook and Instagram. You can view archives of such claims here, here, and here.

What are the facts?: The viral document is fake. It shows an Emirates identification card and does not show an UAE passport.

• Further, we found an older post on Facebook that showed the Emirates ID belonged to a different individual.

What led us to the truth?: On running a reverse image search on the viral image, we found a post uploaded on X handle named 'Surnesh'.

• It carried a screenshot of a post shared in a Facebook group that showed an individual's UAE resident identity card. The post was shared on 6 April.

The post carried an image of an individual's ID card.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

Finding the original post: We looked for 'Pakistani in Ajman' group on Facebook and found that the original post had been deleted by the person who had originally posted it.

• Next, we searched for archives and found one on Wayback Machine.

• The post was originally shared on 28 March, which predated Khera's presser.

• The caption, too, clarified that it was indeed an Emirates ID.

The post was shared on 28 March.

(Source: Wayback Machine/Screenshot)

Comparing visuals: Team WebQoof noticed that the same ID number was present in both the viral document as well as the image on Facebook. This indicated the possibility of the former being altered.

• As per the UAE authorities, the Emirates ID for each person is unique and can be availed by people residing in the country and not just citizens.

Both the images carried the ID number.

(Source: Wayback Machine/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

Other discrepancies: We then examined the back side of the document and found an error at its bottom (machine-readable zone).

• While the front side allegedly mentioned Sharma's nationality as Egypt, the back side of the document carried the code "ATG".

• It should be noted that ATG stands for Antigua and Barbuda.

The backside of the viral document carried an error.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

Conclusion: It is evident that the viral document has been fabricated and is being shared with an incorrect claim.

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