An image of Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik as a scrap seller is being shared on social media.
Malik has been making headlines with his allegations against Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede and former Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis, following the developments in the Mumbai drugs-on-cruise case.
However, the viral image has been morphed to add Nawab Malik's face and the original one could be traced back to 2017 at least.
CLAIM
The claim takes a dig at the NCP leader questioning how he turned into a billionaire from being a scrap seller.
The image carries a text, which when translated to English, reads: "He is NCP leader Nawab Malik who was a scrap seller in the past. Today, he is a billionaire. It's a matter of investigation as to how this was possible."
You can view the archived version here.
(Source: Twitter/ Screenshot)
WHAT WE FOUND
We did a Google reverse image search and came across an article by a portal called Humans of India that carried the original image in which NCP's Nawab Malik could not be seen.
The original image could be found on Humans of India.
(Source: Website/ Screenshot)
The Instagram handle of the portal had uploaded the image in June 2017 and a part of the caption along with the image titled as 'The Bombay Bhangarwala' read: "Ever since, I came to Bombay 17 years ago, I have worked from pulling the handcart carrying all the recyclable waste to now after my brother helped me with the Bhangar shop. I have been born and brought up in Uttar Pradesh. I have a wife and two children one daughter and one son. (sic)"
The image is credited to one Prasad Solanki. Further, a comparison of the viral image with the original one showed that the former had been morphed to add Nawab Malik's face.
One can also see the logo of 'Humans of India' at the bottom right of both the images.
Left: Viral image. Right: Original image.
(Photo: Altered by The Quint)
Evidently, a morphed image was shared on social media to falsely claim that Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik was earlier a scrap seller.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)