This Is Not The Last Photo Of Vijay Rupani On Board Air India Flight 171

An old in-flight selfie showing a woman with former Gujarat Chief Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Rupani in the background is viral as his “last photo” before the Air India 171 crash. BOOM found that the photo is from 2021, and is unrelated to the June 12 tragedy.

Rupani was on board the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, operating as Flight AI171 that crashed soon after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. The flight was carrying 242 passengers, with only one survivor.

The Claim: ‘Last Photo’ of Vijay Rupani Before the Crash

The viral selfie is being shared widely on X and Facebook, with the caption: “Last Pic of Vijay Rupani!!”. Several Indian news outlets including Zee News, The Tribune, and ABP News also reported it as a photo taken aboard the AI 171 flight.

What We Found:

1. Rupani's Outfit In Viral Photo

The selfie shows Rupani wearing a light blue polo T-shirt. However visuals of Rupani entering the Ahmedabad airport show him wearing a different outfit - a full-sleeve formal shirt with a dark blue half jacket. This can be seen in the comparison photo below:

2. BJP Leader Majid Ladhani's X reply

Majid Ladhani, the state media head of the BJP’s Daman and Diu unit, refuted the viral posts on X that claimed to show Rupani's last photo before the crash. He wrote that the photo was from 2021 and shared screenshot of a 2021 Facebook post by a woman named Lina Goswami, who had uploaded the selfie.

3. Lina Goswami Confirms The Photo Is From 2021

Lina Goswami confirmed to India Today Fact Check that the viral selfie was taken on October 12, 2021, during an Air India flight to London. She clarified that her Facebook post mistakenly mentioned June 2021, but the correct date was in fact October 2021. Goswami further stated that the image is not related to the AI 171 crash.