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Fact Check
A photograph shows the wreckage of an IAF Rafale fighter jet shot down by a Pakistani missile near Bahawalpur.
The image has gone viral after India struck nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir early on Wednesday (May 7) under “Operation Sindoor.”
Such posts can be seen here and here.
A Google Lens search on the viral photo led us to a report by Times Of India, dated May 21, 2021. Carrying the same image, it stated, “A MiG-21 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed late Thursday night in the fields near Langeana Khurd village of Moga district in Punjab. The pilot, Squadron Leader Abhinav Choudhary, has died in the crash.”
A report by Hindustan Times published on May 21, 2021, featuring the same photo, further detailed, “The fighter jet was on its way back to Suratgarh after a routine training at the time of the accident…The jet crashed around 9.30pm and it took more than 3 hours to locate Choudhary’s body in the fields, said police.”
Reacting to the incident, the Indian Air Force said, “There was an aircraft accident last night involving a Bison aircraft of IAF in the western sector. The pilot, Sqn Ldr Abhinav Choudhary, sustained fatal injuries. IAF condoles the tragic loss and stands firmly with the bereaved family.” A court of Inquiry was ordered in the matter.
Multiple other outlets such as this, this and this also shared the same photo while reporting on the May 2021 IAF aircraft crash in Punjab’s Moga.
Hence, we find that an old photo has been falsely shared to claim that an IAF Rafale jet was shot down by a Pakistani missile following India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’.
Sources
Report By Times Of India, Dated May 21, 2021
Report By Hindustan Times, Dated May 21, 2021
False
Kushel Madhusoodan
May 11, 2025
Kushel Madhusoodan
May 11, 2025
Vasudha Beri
May 10, 2025
