In recent news, there was a huge uproar at Jantar Mantar on Sunday. Delhi Police detained several wrestlers including Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Sangeeta. In fact, Mahila Mahapanchayat was called on behalf of the wrestlers on the occasion of the inauguration of the new Parliament. After which, as soon as the wrestlers were taking out the march, the Delhi Police showed severity and took them into custody; this action is being roundly condemned.
Simultaneously, a photo is going viral on social media, in which one can see that a person’s face is being crushed by the boot of a policeman. Users are claiming that Sakshi Malik was treated like this by the police on Sunday when the wrestlers were taken into custody.
Sharing this photo, a user named Ashok Budh wrote – “This is @SakshiMalik who won the first Olympic medal in women’s wrestling for the country! Such a picture was not seen even in the Taliban. Is the country’s land alive or dead or sold?” (English translation)
Many other users are also circulating this photo.
Fact Check:
To fact-check the viral photo, the DFRAC team reverse-searched the image. We found several media reports in reference to this photo, which state that this photo is from the Singhu border during the farmers’ protest in the year 2021.
Reports published in the Times of India on 1 February 2021 stated that the picture was of 22-year-old Ranjit Singh, who was crushed by a policeman’s boot at the farmers’ protest at the Singhu border, becoming the face of the mob attack. Despite heavy security, when the mob reached the farmers’ camp and attacked the camp, some farmer protesters clashed with them.
On the other hand, ‘Indian Express’ has also published news claiming this photo as being that of Ranjit Singh.
This image can also be seen in Newslaundry’s report published on 25 February 2021.
Conclusion:
It is clear from the fact check of DFRAC that the photo going viral is 2 years old and this photo is not of Sakshi Malik. It is of farmer Ranjit Singh during the mob attack on farmers at Singhu border during farmer’s protest in January 2021. Hence the claim of social media users is misleading.
