Images of a Nihang protester clashing with the police during the Republic Day rally and that of an injured farmer have been falsely linked on social media.
Users have claimed that the farmer’s injuries were a result of his clash with the police. However, the image was taken on 28 December, when a tractor with farmers met with an accident en route from Wadala, Punjab to Delhi for the farmers’ protest. The image is unrelated to that of the Nihang protester with a sword in his hand, which was taken on 26 January.
CLAIM
The set of images was shared as a “before” and “after” with the caption, “बाबा जी की कम्बल ठुकाई क्या से क्या हो गए देखते देखते”
(Translation: “ Look at what happened to babaji.”)
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
The image of the injured farmer was taken much before the violence at the Republic Day rally. Clearly, it cannot be an aftermath of the protesters’ clash with the police. Here’s how we found that out.
IMAGE 1
A reverse image search led us to a report by The Indian Express dated 26 January, and titled, “Farmers’ tractor rally photos: How the protests unfolded at Delhi borders.”
The report carried the image with the caption, “A Nihang supporter of farmers clashes with police at Ghazipur border during their ‘Kisan Gantantra Parade’.”
We also found the image on news agency, PTI’s archives credited to photographer Ravi Chaudhary and dated 26 January.
IMAGE 2
The reverse image search led us to an article on News18 Punjab, dated 28 December 2020, which stated that a “tractor belonging to a farmer from Wadala village of Kirti Kisan Union, who was going to join the Delhi ‘Kisan Andolan,’ met with an accident near Khanna.”
The Kirti Kisan Union had shared the images of the tractor and the injured farmers on their Facebook page.
General Secretary of Shiromani Akali Dal, Bikram Majithia, had also shared the images with the caption, “Last night, news was received from Wadale village that an accident had taken place near Khanna, of farmers who were going to join the Delhi ‘Kisan Andolan’. Asked about his condition on the phone, we found out that by the grace of God, all is well.”
Evidently, two unrelated images have been clubbed together to falsely claim that a protester at the farmers’ Republic Day received a bashing by the police during a clash.
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