2013 Photo Of WB Chief Secretary Revived With COVID-19 Spin

An old image of West Bengal chief secretary Rajiva Sinha at an informal gathering has resurfaced on social media with claims that he is unwinding despite the growing COVID-19 death toll in the state.

The image shows Sinha at a casual get together with two glasses and a bottle of alcoholic beverage that can be seen placed on the table.

Netizens have taken a dig at Sinha for not disclosing actual figures of death in the state and indulging in a get together amidst the lockdown, oblivious to the state's COVID-19 situation. The image has been captioned as, "Have heard, drunk people are honest. But the drunk man you see in the photo is a liar. He is state's chief secretary Rajiva Sinha. He has given out false information regarding Corona and put the entire state in danger. Now he is sipping alcohol and enjoying it." (Original text in Bengali: "শুনেছি মাতালরা নাকি সত্যবাদী হয়,কিন্তু আপনারা ছবিতে যেই , মাতালটাকে দেখতে পাচ্ছেন এ পুর মিথ্যেবাদী. রাজ্যের মুখ্য সচিব রাজিব সিনহা করোনায় মিথ্যে , তথ্য দিয়ে গোটা রাজ্যকে বিপদে ফেলে দিয়ে, মদের গ্লাসে চুমুক দিতে দিতে মজা নিচ্ছে. #FaliureRajibSinha #IndiaFightsCorona (সংগৃহীত)"

Click here to view the archive of the post and see the viral Facebook post below.

The Inter Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) had earlier sent a letter to the state government of West Bengal questioning the mismatch in data related to COVID-19. Sinha, who was appointed as the chief secretary of Bengal in 2019, clarified that there were "gaps in the data that triggered confusion." In a press conference on May 4, Sinha further said that it was not deliberate and the discrepancies have been rectified.

Fact Check

BOOM was able to ascertain that the photograph is an old one and not related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon reverse searching the image, we came across Rajiva Sinha's Facebook profile. The same image was posted by the user in July, 2013, with the caption, "A quiter evening at Patna."

BOOM could not independently verify Rajiva Sinha's Facebook profile. The Facebook post by the user can be seen below. (Archive link).