Claim on Death of Farmer Who Collapsed at Protest Site Is False

Dr Pabla, who was treating the farmer on the day of the incident, told us that he is fine and recovering.

A video of a farmer collapsing at the protest site at Singhu border is being circulated with the false claim that he has passed away.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A viral video showing a farmer collapsing at the protest site is being shared to claim that he has passed away.

However, Dr Lovepreet Singh Pabla, who is an orthopaedic surgeon at a Hoshiarpur hospital and was treating the farmer identified as Iqbal Singh on the day of the incident, told us that he is fine and recovering.

CLAIM

The video claims to show the ‘Live’ visuals of how a farmer passed away at the Singhu border.

The video has been shared by a Facebook page, called ‘Gourav Vallabh Fan Club’, which had garnered over 2,900 shares at the time of publishing this article.

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)

Another user, Kavish, had shared the video on Twitter on Sunday, 3 January, and has garnered over a lakh views.

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Twitter/ Screenshot)

Several Facebook users have also shared the video with the same claim.

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)

(Source: Facebook/ Screenshot)

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We searched on Twitter with keywords ‘farmer fall death’ and found that journalist Gagandeep Singh had shared a video in response to the one that has gone viral.

In this video, a man, who identifies himself as Dr Lovepreet Singh Pabla and is an orthopaedic surgeon, clarifies that while the condition of the man seen in the viral video did deteriorate, he has not passed away.

Speaking to The Quint’s WebQoof team, Gagandeep Singh confirmed that the farmer seen in the video is alive and that he had collapsed due to a drop in blood pressure.

“His name is Iqbal Singh and is from Lucknow. He was given first aid by Dr Pabla and his team. He is now recovering,” he added.

We also spoke to Dr Pabla who works at Waves Hospital in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur. He said that the ambulance and the yellow tent seen in the viral video belong to his team that regularly visits the protest site at Singhu and Tikri borders, to provide medical aid.

“The viral video is from the Singhu border. Around 11:30 am, amid heavy rain, an old-aged person collapsed at the site. A member of my team informed about the incident and I, along with my team members, met him when he was unconscious. We checked his blood pressure and sugar levels and found that the blood pressure was on the lower side. We provided him first aid and after 15-20 minutes, he started becoming conscious.[sic.]”

Dr Lovepreet Singh Pabla, orthopaedic surgeon, Waves hospital, Hoshiarpur

As per Dr Pabla, Iqbal Singh had reached the protest site along with his relatives from Amritsar. Iqbal’s relatives had contacted Dr Pabla the following day and told him that the farmers was taken to Amritsar’s Randhawa Hospital and the cardiologist had diagnosed that Iqbal had suffered a severe heart attack.

Clearly, this video of a farmer collapsing at the protest site at the Singhu border is being circulated with a false claim. However, news reports indicate that nearly 41 farmers have died since the protests started in September in Punjab and Haryana. As the protests intensified and farmers reached Delhi, there have been reports of deaths but there is no consolidated number or list which indicate the casualties.

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