Images of Modi Greeting Women Misidentified As Gautam Adani’s Wife

While one is Deepika Mondol, an office bearer in a Delhi-based NGO, the other one is ex-Tumkur mayor Geetha Rudresh.

Social media users falsely claimed that the viral images show Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeting Gautam Adani’s wife, Priti Adani.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Video Editor: Ashutosh Bhardwaj

Images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeting two different women are being shared to claim that the woman in the two images is Priti Adani, wife of Gautam Adani who is the chairman of the Adani Group.

However, we found that both the women are being misidentified as Priti Adani. While one is Deepika Mondol, an office bearer in a Delhi-based NGO, the other one is former Tumkur Mayor Geetha Rudresh.

CLAIM

The claim along with the images reads: “ये देख लो 56 " वाले को, 36 " वाली के आगे नतमस्तक हुवा जा रहा है, अपनी घर से निकाल दी,ओर अडानी वाली की पूजा कर रहा है”

(Translated: Look at this 56-inch person, bowing down before a 36-inch woman, removed his wife from his own house, and is worshipping Adani’s wife.)

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

The same claim is being shared with another image showing a PM Modi with a different woman.

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

Several Facebook users have shared the images with the same claim.

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

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We found that both the women in the viral images have been misidentified as Gautam Adani’s wife. Let’s take a look at them one by one.

IMAGE 1

(Source: Twitter/ Screenshot)

We reverse searched the image that led us to an Amar Ujala article published in 2018 that identified the woman in the picture as Deepika Mondol who belongs to an NGO called Divyajyoti Cultural Organisation and Social Welfare Society.

We then scanned through the website of the said NGO that mentioned that Mondol is the NGO’s chief functionary officer.

Speaking to The Quint’s WebQoof team, Samar Mondol, husband of Deepika Mondol, confirmed that the woman seen in the viral image is his wife and is being misidentified on social media.

“I can't remember the exact year in which the viral image was taken, however, she is my wife Deepika Mondol,” he added.

The Amar Ujala report carried several images of Mondol with eminent personalities. On comparing Deepika Mondol with Priti Adani, we found that the viral image does not show the latter.

Left: Deepika Mondol. Right: Priti Adani.(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

IMAGE 2

(Source: Twitter/ Screenshot)

On reverse searching the image, we found a tweet shared in September 2014 that mentioned that the image shows exchange of greetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then Tumkur Mayor Geetha Rudresh.

(Source: Twitter/ Screenshot)

Speaking to The Quint’s WebQoof team, a local journalist, too, identified the woman as Geetha Rudresh, former Tumkur corporation mayor and said that the image is from PM Modi’s visit to Tumkur, Karnataka.

In September 2014, PM Modi had visited Tumkur to inaugurate the India Food Park. The official website of the prime minister carried a detailed description of the event and a footage in which PM Modi can be seen wearing the same clothes as in the viral image.

The image was fact-checked by AFP in 2019 and TV Rudresh, Geetha Rudresh’s husband, had then confirmed to the organisation that the photo showed his wife meeting the prime minister.

Evidently, social media users falsely claimed that the viral images show Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeting Gautam Adani’s wife, Priti Adani.

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