A set of photos of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Ayodhya, Manoj Srivastava is viral misidentifying him as the father of Advik Srivastava, the accused arrested in connection with the death of another student at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) institute, Odisha
The viral photos show a man posing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. BOOM was able to confirm that the man in the viral photo is BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh and not accused Advik's father.
Also Read:Abuse And Outrage: What Happened At KIIT After Nepali Student's Death?
Warning: Story has mention of suicide. Reader discretion advised
On February 16, 2025, the body of a 20-year-old student from Nepal was found in her hostel room at the KIIT, where she reportedly died by suicide. The incident led to protests from other Nepali students in the institution, with the college first forcibly evacuating them from the hostel and later issuing an apology, asking them to return.
The victim's brother filed a complaint against Advik Srivastava (21) who is currently arrested and in judicial custody. The incident has also caused a diplomatic stir with Nepal KP Sharma Oli having asking the Indian government to look into the safety of the other students from his country studying at KIIT.
The photo is being shared with a caption claiming, "He is Manoj Shrivastava, an influential BJP politician from Lucknow and the father of Advik Srivastava".
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Fact Check
BOOM identified the man in the viral photos as Manoj Srivastava, former District Vice President, BJP Ayodhya. We also confirmed with Odisha police that he is not the father of the arrested accused Advik Srivastava.
We had earlier verified that the accused Advik's father is also named Manoj Srivastava.
We first reached out to Mahendra Kumar Sahu, station-in-charge, Infocity, Bhubaneswar, who confirmed that the photo does not show Advik Srivastava's father.
With Ayodhya BJP and Srivastava's designation of former district vice president prominent visible in the photos, we looked him up on Facebook and found the same shared on his account.
Speaking to BOOM, Manoj Srivastava denied being related to Advik. "This is incorrect information. My son's name is Akshat Srivastava and he lives in Ayodhya. Askhat runs a two-wheeler showroom in Ayodhya," explained Srivastava. A facebook post shared by for his son's birthday with his photo, shows no resemblance with the accused.
BOOM has previously debunked photos of another political worker Manoj Srivastava from Lucknow, peddled claiming he is the father of the accused in the KIIT incident.
BOOM was unable to independently verify details of the accused Advik's father, but was able to confirm that Manoj Srivastava in the viral photo is not related to the accused.
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