Fact Check: Old Photos Give Twist To Ongoing Wrestlers’ Protest

The wrestlers' protest is on and they are demanding the arrest of former Wrestling Federation of India President, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

On Sunday, the police detained India's top most wrestlers Bajrang Purnia, Vinesh Phogat, Sangeeta Phogat and Sakshi Malik. The arrests took place when the wrestlers were marching towards the new Parliament building. They were however released later.

There have been many photos of the same that have been shared. One photo shows a policeman's boot pressed against the face of a person. Those sharing this image said that the image was that of Sakshi Malik against whom the police are committing an atrocity.

"This is Sakshi Malik, the first Indian Olympic medal winner in women's wrestling,"read the tweet while comparing the situation to that of women in Afghanistan.

Another image that has gone viral is that of Vinesh and Sangeeta Phogat smoking while being detained. The photo tried to imply that the wrestlers were putting on a show for the social media. "Does the National Sports Federation of India also provide acting classes," the tweet read.

OneIndia has learnt that the photo of a cop kicking a person is from 2021. Moreover it is a man who is being kicked and not Sakshi Malik as the post has claimed.

While reverse searching the photo we found that the the policeman stepping on the face of a person is that of a man called Ranjit Singh. It was reportedly taken during a mob attack on the farmers' protest at the Singhu border. The Delhi Police accused Ranjit of attacking a police man with his sword and injuring him. He along with several others were arrested on the same day under various sections, including attempt to murder.

With regards to the second photo, we found that the same had been morphed. Bajrang Purnia had tweeted that the photo of the wrestlers smiling was fake. "The IT Cell people are spreading this false picture. We make it clear that a complaint will be filed against whoever posts this fake picture," Purnia had said in a tweet.

Since the protests have begun there has been plenty of misinformation about the same. Recently, a video of a rally organised by the Kerala Youth Congress in support of the farmer protest had gone viral as a rally in solidarity with the wrestlers.