On September 28, the government appointed retired Lt. Gen. Chauhan as the new Chief of Defence Staff, nine months after CDS General Bipin Rawat’s death. In this context, an image showing Chief Of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) Chief Anil Dhasmana sitting together is going viral on social media. Newschecker found this image to be edited.

The image has been shared on Twitter by user @RavinderKapur2. The photograph also carries text in Hindi which translates to ‘General Anil Chauhan met with Mr Ajit Doval and Mr Anil Dhasmana and thanked them for their support.’ This text superimposed on the photographs seems to imply that the CSD “thanked” NSA Ajit Doval and Anil Dhasmana for supporting his tenure as CDS.

The twitter user also wrote the following caption: “How can Narendra Modi and the BJP justify their position. They make, bend and break the rules according to their whims and fancies.”

Newschecker found similar claims in Hindi shared on Twitter. All of the captions seemed to imply that this photograph was proof of some sort of collusion between the individuals in the photograph in the appointment of the CDS.

Fact Check /Verification

A reverse image search of the viral image led us to the original image tweeted by ANI on 15th July, 2021. The image was shared along with the caption ‘Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) chief Anil Dhasmana meet CM Pushkar Singh Dhami at Uttarakhand Sadan in New Delhi. They discussed matters related to the development of the state: Chief Minister’s Office.’

Upon comparing the two images, Newschecker found that the image has been digitally flipped and edited to replace the late CDS General Bipin Rawat with current CDS general Anil Chauhan and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami has been edited to be replaced by Ajit Doval.

Conclusion

Newschecker’s investigation reveals that the image showing Chief Of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) Chief Anil Dhasmana sitting together is edited.

Result: Altered

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