An image showing a wreath ceremony conducting by some Police officials has recently surfaced on social media site X (Twitter). The image has been shared by a pak-based handle claiming that five Indian police personnel were killed in Kathua during anti-encrochment drive.

An account with the username PSYWAR Bureau, operating under the username @PSYWAROPS shared this image and wrote: “#BREAKING NEWS ln Kathua, llOJK, five lnd!an poIice personneI, incIuding a deputy superintendent of poIice, were kiIIed by protesters”

Fact-Check

To verify the claim made through the image, the DFRAC team conducted keyword search on google in this regard which led us to some recently published reports from Indian Express, The Times of India, The Tribune and Kashmir Reader. As per these reports, at least five police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police, were injured on Saturday, June 29 after allegedly being attacked by a mob protesting against an anti-encroachment drive in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district.

Upon Investigating further, the image employed in the post was found in reports from Rising Kashmir, JammuLinks news and Kashmir observer dated April 3, 2024. The image shows wreath-laying ceremony held at District Police Lines, at Samba to pay homage to PSI Deepak Sharma who died battling a Gangster during an encounter in Kathua.

Conclusion

It is clear from DFRAC’s fact-check that the five police personnel were injured during an anti-encroachment drive in Kathua, not Killed. Moreover, the Image shared in the above post is from April 2024, not the recent one.

Analysis: Misleading