Activist Surat Singh's 2015 Photo Linked To Farmers' Protest

An old image of civil rights and political activist Surat Singh Khalsa aka Bapu Surat Singh is viral with a false caption claiming that the octogenarian is fasting in solidarity with farmers protesting at the borders of Delhi.

BOOM found that viral picture is from 2015 when the activist had started a fast-unto-death on January 16 demanding the release of Sikh political prisoners who have completed their sentence.

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The picture is viral in the backdrop of the ongoing protest at different borders of Delhi which has seen farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh camping here since November 26. The farmers have been demanding the repeal of three Farm Bills passed by the Parliament this year.

The viral picture shows a frail old man wearing a saffron turban lying on a bed. A Hindi caption with the picture translates to '#BapuSuratSingh has given up on food and water coming out in support of the farmers. If the public still doesn't come out in support of farmers, it will be them who'll have to go hungry in the future'.

(Hindi: #बापूसूरतसिंह...,ने अपनी #किसान क़ौम के लिए अन्न जल त्याग दिए, जनता अब भी साथ नहीं आइ तो आने वाले समय में उपवास जनता को करना होगा। )

View the post below and check its archived version here.

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The picture has been shared with similar captions from several Facebook profiles.

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Fact Check

BOOM ran a reverse image search on the viral picture and found a report on Sikh Siyasat News published on September 27, 2015 carrying the same image.

The report states that Sikh activist Surat Singh Khalsa was shifted to PGI, Chandigarh on September 26. BOOM also came across other news reports from 2015 carrying the same image. The photo according to reports is from January 2015 when Khalsa began his fast.

BOOM also compared the viral picture with the image published in 2015 and found them to be one and same.

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Surat Singh Khalsa is a political and civil rights activist in his late eighties. Khalsa has been on a fast-unto-death since January 16, 2015 demanding the release of Sikh political prisoner who have completed their jail term.

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