Several X posts claiming that an Indian national named Nitin Mohan was arrested in Bahrain for leaking confidential data to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad are false. The posts have used an image likely edited using Artificial Intelligence to amplify the false claim.
Both Bahrain and India have called out the image and clarified that the viral news is false and has been wrongly attributed to official sources.
The claim has gone viral amid the ongoing military conflict between Iran and US-Israel forces that has drawn in several Gulf countries. In its latest development, Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial corridor for global oil supplies, prompting the United Nations to warn that such disruption could have serious economic consequences worldwide.
The Claim
Several X users posted the photo appearing to show a handcuffed man with the caption, "Bahraini authorities have arrested Nitin Mohan, an Indian telecommunications engineer, for transferring confidential geospatial data, photographs, and videos of strategically important facilities to Israel's Mossad. Preliminary reports indicate the suspect provided area photos and operational information that could aid foreign intelligence analysis and target assessment. The Interior Ministry confirmed the arrest but provided no further details."
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What We Found: No Evidence of Bahrain Arresting An Indian For Espionage
1. No Credible News Report: We first ran a related keyword search but found no credible reports from Bahrain stating that Nitin Mohan, an Indian telecommunications engineer, was arrested for transferring confidential information to Israel’s Mossad. Additionally, we came across a post from Bahraini news outlet Alayam, which addressed the viral claim and clarified that there is no truth to it.
We also checked the official website of the Ministry of Interior, Bahrain, but did not find any press release about an Indian arrested in the country. A press release dated March 9, 2026, stated that six Asians were arrested in the country for filming and publishing videos related to the Iranian attack.
The statement listed five Pakistani nationals and one Bangladeshi who were arrested for expressing sympathy with the attack and 'glorifying hostile acts in a way that harms security and public order,' including their images.
2. Photo Shows Signs of AI Tampering: We analysed the photo of the man posing handcuffed in front of a wall with Bahrain's Ministry of Interior logo and found that the hands look unusually folded into a fist, with the fingers disappearing into the background. The handcuff on the wrist also looks hazy and blends uncannily with the background, raising doubts.
A reverse image search of the photo using Google Lens led us to a post on the Bahrain Interior Ministry’s official Instagram page, where the ministry shared a similar photo of an arrest featuring another individual on February 16, 2026. When compared, we found background similarities in both pictures but noticed differences in colour temperature, indicating that the photo posted by the Bahrain Interior Ministry might have been used as a template.
Taking a cue, we used AI detection tools Hive Moderation and Truthscan to analyse the viral photo. While Hive Moderation indicated that the image was unlikely to contain AI generated content, Truthscan’s AI detector suggested that the image may have been generated using AI.
The Deepfakes Analysis Unit (DAU) examined the image using additional AI detection tools and obtained mixed results with AI Or Not stating that the image is 'likely a deepfake'. While we could not confirm whether the image was generated using an AI tool, we found signs that can often be noticed in AI-manipulated images.
3. Official Confirmation From Bahrain and India: Bahrain and Indian governments issued clarifications calling the viral claim fake. On March 10, 2026, Bahrain’s General Directorate of Anti-Corruption, Economic and Electronic Security posted on Instagram stating that the news is false and has been wrongly attributed to official sources.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs also dismissed it as false and baseless.
