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| - Fact Check: The Alphons picture attracting trolls is no selfie with Pulwama martyr
India Today Anti Fake News War room (AFWA) found the claim to be false. The picture in question was not a selfie.
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India Today Fact Check
The viral image was cropped to mislead netizens. It wasn't a selfie.
The political blame game continues unabashedly in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack that left 40 CRPF jawans dead on February 14. At a press conference on Thursday, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala claimed that Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Alphons Kannanthanam took a selfie with the body of a martyr just before his cremation. The Congress leader even flashed a photo, which according to him established that Alphons was taking a selfie.
India Today Anti Fake News War room (AFWA) found the claim to be false. The picture in question was not a selfie.
Surjewala said, "Modi ji ke paryatan mantri ne to besharmi ki sab hadien tod daali, selfie with dead body of a shaheed, kya isse bhi jyada dardnaak koi baat ho sakti hai aur sharmsaar karne wali. [Modi ji's tourism minister has crossed all the limits of shamelessness. Selfie with the body of a martyr. Can there anything be more painful and shameful?]"
The press conference of Surjewala can be watched here. At 14.50 minute of the video, Surjewala can be seen talking about Alphons.
Even before Surjewala raised the issue, Alphons was already at the receiving end from netizens for this photo. India Today also reported about it.
Alphons, who is from Kerala, had gone to a martyr's home in Lakkidi, Wayanad, on February 16 to pay last respects. Havildar Vasantha Kumar VV, a CRPF soldier, was killed in the Pulwama attack.
Interestingly, the photo which many people believed to be a selfie was posted by the minister himself on the same night on his Facebook page. But, he had deleted the post after being trolled. India Today accessed the screenshot of this original post.
Asked why he deleted the post if it was not a selfie, Alphons clarified, "The person who handles my social media account got panicky when he saw that I was being trolled for it. Without even consulting me, he deleted it. When I got to know about it, I asked him to repost it along with a couple of other pictures from the same spot."
However, netizens were not convinced and kept attacking him on social media. Alphons insisted that neither it was a selfie nor does he ever take selfies. Alphons even wrote a letter to the Kerala DGP to take appropriate action against those who were circulating this "false news" against him on social media. This was also reported in The Indian Express.
India Today got multiple pictures capturing the same moment which proves that the viral picture is indeed not a selfie. The image in circulation has been cropped to make it look like a selfie. The original picture makes it quite clear.
The wreath-laying ceremony for the martyr was covered by News 18 Kerala. The entire video can be seen here.
From the video, it is clear that there was a huge gathering at the event and Alphons was busy managing the crowd. Nowhere he is seen with a mobile in his hand. Based on the ground report and the original photos from the event, it is clear that the picture is certainly not a selfie.
(With inputs from PS Gopi Krishnan Unnithan in Kerala)
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