No Evidence on Navy Officer Abhishek Chakraborty Taking Part in ‘Op Black Cobra'

Team WebQoof did not find any evidence that backed the claims made in the viral post.

A post, which details the story of an Indian Navy Officer named Abhishek Chakraborty and his alleged participation in the 'Operation Black Cobra', is doing the rounds on social media platforms.

What else does the post claim?: It mentions that Chakraborty was entrusted with a mission to destroy the "underwater sensors and minefield of the China-Pakistan joint naval base."

• The post further said that he died on 28 February 2016, and was awarded the posthumous Vir Chakra this year. The mission was purportedly kept a secret.

• Towards the end, the post carried two news sources namely - The Hindu and Anandabazar Patrika.

(More archives of similar claims could be found here, here, and here.)

What are the facts?: There is no evidence that could back the claims made in the viral post.

• We did not find any mention of a soldier named Abhishek Chakraborty, who received a gallantry award this year.

• This meant that the post was misleading.

Checking the gallantry awards list: Team WebQoof went through both the gallantry awards list from this year (one on the Republic Day and the other on the Independence Day.)

• We did not find Chakraborty's name in both the lists. This directly contradicted the claim seen in the viral post.

• You can view the lists here and here.

No news reports: We did not find any credible reports or information available in the public domain that talked about an officer named Abhishek Chakraborty participating in such an operation.

• There were no available details about the alleged 'Operation Black Cobra'.

• Additionally, both the sources (The Hindu and Anandabazar Patrika) mentioned in the viral post were incorrect as well. We did not find any reports published in either of the media outlets.

What did the official website show?: Next, we checked the official website of Gallantry Awards and found that an Indian Army personnel Major Abhishek Chakrabarty had received the Shaurya Chakra in August 2011.

• These findings make it clear that there is no evidence to back the claims made in the viral post.

Conclusion: It is clear that there is no evidence of a navy officer named Abhishek Chakraborty participating in 'Operation Black Cobra'.

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