Authors
An image of a retired Captain of the Sikh Regiment, Indian Army and another image of an injured farmer during ongoing farmers’ protests are going viral on social media. Many users have claimed that the retired captain was also beaten during the protest, and the two men shown in the images are the same.
Congress MP Jasbir Singh Gill Dimpa also shared this claim.
Fact Check/ Verification
We began with a search on Facebook using relevant keywords “captain PPS dhillon farmers protest.”
This led us to a post by Sukhwinder Singh Sarpanch Uboke on the Sikh Military History Forum.
Posted with the retired Captain’s photograph on 29 November, Uboke’s post read, “Today is my father’s birthday. Hon. Captain pirthipal Singh Dhillon. Retired in 1993, 17 sikh regiment. He is the one of those soldiers who fought the battles of 1965,1971 and 1989-90(sri lanka) God bless you dad.”
Sukhwinder Singh Sarpanch Uboke uploaded a photograph with his father on the same date on his personal Facebook page.
NewsChecker reached out to Uboke, who clarified that the injured man in the viral claim is not his father. He also said that his father was not participating in the ongoing farmers’ protests.
During a search of the second image which shows an injured man, we found that it was initially shared by a Twitter user on 29 November. In part, this also proves that the two people in the claim are not the same.
However, we are unable to verify the actual source of the injured man’s image from the claim.
This claim has been debunked in our Punjabi fact-check as well.
NewsChecker has also debunked various claims related to the ongoing farmers’ protests. You can read them here and here.
Conclusion
Our research makes it clear that an image of retired Captain Prithipal Singh Dhillon is being shared with a false claim. Contrary to the claim, the two men from the images are not the same.
Result: Misleading
Our Sources
Direct conversation with Sukhwinder Singh Sarpanch Uboke: https://soundcloud.com/shaminder-singh-mahi/aud-20201202-wa0144
Sukhwinder Singh Sarpanch Uboke’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/929320653748965/user/100007009697949/
Sikh Military History Forum: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sikhmilitaryhistoryforum/
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