2013 Picture Of Sikh Protester Being Thrashed By Cops Peddled As Recent

A seven-year-old disturbing picture showing a Sikh protester lying on the ground while policemen are kicking him is viral with a false caption linking it to the violent clashes between Delhi police and protesting farmers earlier this week.

BOOM found that the picture was around seven years old and the claims with it were unrelated. We also contacted photographer Shekhar Yadav who had clicked the picture and confirmed with him the same.

The viral picture has been shared from some Pakistani Twitter handles with hashtags calling for the Sikh community to wake up to the atrocity against them.

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A Pakistani journalist Bashir Chaudhary has tweeted the same picture with a caption reading 'This picture will shake the foundations of #India #JaagPunjabiJaag #IndianRepublicBlackDay #TractorMarchDelhi #KisanTractorRally #FarmersProtest'.

The same picture is viral on Facebook with a Hindi claim linking it to the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre.

The claim in Hindi translates to 'The members of tadipar (exiled) gang perpetrate violence like this and defame others. The tadipar gives contract to his minions. See the truth in this picture'. The viral claim takes a jibe at Home Minister Amit SHah and Delhi police.

(Hindi: तड़ीपार गैंग वाले ऐसे अंदर घुसकर हिंसा फैलाते है और नाम बदनाम दुसरो का होता है और ये सुपारी तड़ीपार अपने प्यादों को देता है जिसकी सच्चाई इस फोटो में देखे।)

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The image is quite viral on Facebook with similar claims. The claims, both on Twitter and Facebook, link the picture to recent events.

Fact Check

BOOM found that the credit of the photo has been given to Shekhar Yadav. Yadav is a photojournalist based with The New Indian Express in New Delhi.

We contacted Yadav who told us that the photo was around seven to eight years old. "I don't exactly remember the date when the photo was published but it must have been published some seven or eight years ago. The protest was held at Jantar mantar. I remember this was carried on Mail Today's front page," Yadav told BOOM.

Yadav also told us that he had replied to the Pakistani journalist quote-tweeting his tweet.

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We also used related keywords and looked for the original report where the picture was published.

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BOOM found a Daily Mail report published on May 5, 2013 under the headline Fifty Sikh protesters detained as anger over Sajjan acquittal spills over. The same image has been used in the report with a caption reading 'Shameful scenes: A Sikh protester falls to the floor during a protest demanding justice for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots'.

According to the report, a group of Sikhs were planning to march towards then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence as part of protest against the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in the anti-Sikh riots cases of 1984, when police cracked down on them at Jantar Mantar. Around 50 protesters had been detained by the cops.

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