Authors
An Electronics & Communication engineer by training, Arjun switched to journalism to follow his passion. After completing a diploma in Broadcast Journalism at the India Today Media Institute, he has been debunking mis/disinformation for over three years. His areas of interest are politics and social media. Before joining Newschecker, he was working with the India Today Fact Check team.
Pankaj Menon
Claim
Photo shows wrestler Sakshi Malik being trampled upon by a Delhi police officer.
Fact
The photo is over two years old and from the farmers’ protest.
A few kilometres away from the inauguration site of the new parliament in Delhi, the ongoing wrestlers’ protest took a violent turn, as clashes erupted between Delhi police and the top athletes as the latter attempted to march towards the new seat of power.
Several disturbing pictures of the clashes showing the police action against the wrestlers are going viral on social media. One such photo, purportedly showing woman wrestler and Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik, is viral on social media, with users accusing the Delhi police of stomping on the wrestler’s face during the crackdown on the march.
The viral photo shows a woman being stomped upon by a person wearing khaki pants and police boots. A Twitter user captioned the picture as “If this image of a woman wrestler who has won medals for India does not stir you, nothing will of this fascist regime”. The post is viral on Facebook and Twitter.
Fact Check/Verification
With the help of Google reverse search, we found several news reports carrying the viral photo. A report in The Times of India says that the photo was taken during the farmers’ protest at Delhi’s Singhu border in January 2021.
As per the report, a clash erupted between the protesting farmers and the police on January 29 during which a police officer trampled on the face of 22-year-old Ranjit Singh, one of the protesters who was camping at the Singhu border, with his brother, to protest against the controversial farm laws.
The Delhi Police accused Ranjit of attacking an SHO with his sword and injuring him, prompting the police action. Media outlet Newslaundry also published the viral photo detailing the same. Several users also shared the photo on social media criticizing the police action.
Conclusion
Thus it can be concluded that a viral photograph purportedly showing woman wrestler Sakshi Malik being trampled upon by a Delhi police officer, is false. The photo is over two years old. The person whose face was seen under the cop’s boot is a man, not a woman.
Result: False
Our Sources
Report of The Times of India, published on February 1, 2021
Report of Newslaundry, published on February 25, 2021
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Authors
An Electronics & Communication engineer by training, Arjun switched to journalism to follow his passion. After completing a diploma in Broadcast Journalism at the India Today Media Institute, he has been debunking mis/disinformation for over three years. His areas of interest are politics and social media. Before joining Newschecker, he was working with the India Today Fact Check team.
