Old, Unrelated Visuals Falsely Shared As Evidence Of IAF Pilot Shivangi Singh Allegedly Being Captured In Pakistan

Claim

Videos and an image claiming that IAF pilot and squadron leader Shivangi Singh has been captured in Pakistan.

The archived versions of the posts can be seen here, here, here and here, which have amassed close to 10,00,000 views together so far.

Fact

Newschecker noticed that the terrains in the videos were not the same, with one of them seeming to be a wintry mountainous area, indicating that the videos were intended to mislead social media users.

Video 1

Newschecker ran a reverse image search of the keyframes, which led us to this video shared on Youtube on March 19, 2025, saying it was from Manali in Himachal Pradesh.

A comparison of screengrabs proves that it is the same area, considering the trees in the background, which contradicts the viral claim.

Screengrabs of the viral video (left) and the Youtube video (right).

Video 2

Newschecker ran a reverse image search of keyframes, which led us to the same video shared on Youtube on May 7, 2025, days before claims emerged on social media on May 10 that Singh was captured by Pakistani forces.

UPDATE ON 12/05/2025: Newschecker came across this May 10, 2025 Instagram post by Sharjeel Khattak, whose bio states that he is a paragliding pilot from Pakistan, clarifying that it was him in the viral video. “A months-old video of my paragliding landing is now being wrongly shared online with the false claim that an Indian pilot was captured by locals. This was just a regular paragliding flight — I’m safe, I’m local, and definitely not a pilot from across the border,” read the post, leading us to the original and longer version of the viral video, uploaded by Khattak on March 26, 2025.

Video 3

PIB Fact-Check, too, took to X on May 10, 2025, to debunk the viral video and the claims, clarifying that an Indian woman air force pilot was not captured.

Image

Newschecker ran a reverse image search, which led us to an uncropped version of the viral photo in this Instagram post, June 1, 2023, stating that two pilots of a light-weight Indian Air Force (IAF) Kiran Jet Trainer aircraft (HAL HJT-16 Kiran) had a providential escape after ejecting themselves from their plane before it crashed and turned into a fireball this noon. “The incident occurred at around 12 noon at H. Mookalli in Chamarajanagar near Bhogapura village (Karnataka). Both the pilots (one male and another female) managed to eject and landed with the help of two parachutes,”  read the post. 

An Indian Defence News write-up, dated June 1, 2023, features the same cropped version of the photo that has gone viral with the false claim. “IAF sources and the Police said that the pilots have been identified as 50-year-old Wing Commander Tejpal, the chief trainer and 28-year-old Bhoomika, the trainee. The plane took off from Bengaluru this morning for a routine sortie,” read the article.

Also Read: India-Pak Conflict: Old Video From Lebanon Viral As Massive Explosion In Islamabad

Sources
Youtube video, March 19, 2025
Youtube video, May 7, 2025
PIB Fact Check, May 10, 2025
Indian Defence News report, June 1, 2023
Instagram post, Star Of Mysore, June 1, 2023