A set of three photos, two of Indian Army officer Capt Shilpy Gargmukh and one showing an unconscious woman, is being shared on social media with the false claim that Gargmukh was sexually assaulted and killed by fellow soldiers in Ladakh.
A set of three photos, two of Capt Shilpy Gargmukh and one showing an unconscious woman, is being shared on social media with the false claim that the Indian Army officer was sexually assaulted and killed by fellow soldiers in Ladakh.
BOOM found that two images are from a 2016 news report on Capt Shilpy Gargmukh, while the third, showing an unconscious woman, is a stock photo.
The Claim:
The three photos were posted on X by the handle @Baba_Thoka, falsely claiming that Capt. Shilpy Gargmukh was gang-raped by fellow Indian soldiers after being called for an urgent briefing in Ladakh and was later found dead in her room.
BOOM has previously debunked misinformation shared by the same handle, including pro-Pakistan narratives and AI-generated propaganda targeting the Indian Army officials.
What We Found:
1) Three Photos Are Unrelated To The Claim
A reverse image search showed that the first two photos are from a 2016 news report on Capt. Shilpy Gargmukh, which covered her making history as the first woman officer to be commissioned into a departmental unit of India’s Territorial Army.
The third photo, showing an unconscious woman, is an unrelated stock image available on an image-hosting website.
Additionally, we did not find any credible news reports of Capt. Shilpy Gargmukh being sexually assaulted, raped, or killed, as claimed in the viral post.
2) Indian Army rubbishes claim
BOOM also reached out to an Indian Army PRO, who shared a post by the Army’s official fact-checking handle debunking the claim.