A claim is being shared on social media about the decommissioning of the INS Arihant by India. Pak-Based accounts like Hello Pakistan (@HelloPKofficial) and Kashmir English have claimed that “India’s nuclear submarine INS Arihant has reportedly been decommissioned following an attack by unknown men 10 months ago.”
Fact Check
DFRAC team investigated the viral claim. During the process we found the claim is Fake. We checked for the media reports and the Indian Navy’s website. We didnt find any reports about Decommissioning of the INS Arihant.
Furthermore, according to media reports dated Sept 2, 2024,” India now has two SSBNs, INS Arihant (S-2) and INS Arighat, providing significant strategic leverage and acting as a deterrent to any navy seeking to assert dominance in the region. These submarines are a critical part of India’s nuclear triad”.
A fake news has also been shared before about INS Arihant that it was out of action for about 10 months last year due to an accident where the Arihant’s propulsion compartment was damaged after water entered it, as a hatch on the rear side was left open by mistake. However the news came out to be False. According to a report by The Economic Times dated January 12, 2018 it mentioned ,” The submarine has no hatches there. The Arihant is based on Russian double hull design with a sealed nuclear reactor section. Although the Arihant’s core is not designed to operate for the submarine’s lifetime and will need refuelling, it does not have a hatch.”
Conclusion
Thus from Fact Check it is clear that the viral claim of Decommissioning of India’s nuclear submarine INS Arihant is Fake. It is fully functioning & the Indian Navy has recently welcomed its second nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, INS Arighat, into service last week.
DFRAC Analysis: Fake news
