Old Image of Coffins Linked to Recent Ceasefire Violation by Pak

The image has been falsely used by Pakistan-based handles to inflate the number of deaths in the Indian Army.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

An image of coffins wrapped in the Indian flag was circulated on social media to claim that 28 Indian Army soldiers had died in the ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) on 13 November.

The image however could be traced back to 2010 and has been falsely used by Pakistan-based handles to inflate the number of deaths in the Indian Army due to the ceasefire violation.

CLAIM

Karachi-based Twitter user, Muhammad Arif, who claims to be a retired major, shared the image with the caption, “Reportedly yesterday's score was 28. Well done boys. Keep it up.”

You can view an archived version here.(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

The image was shared by several users on Twitter and Facebook with the same claim.

You can view an archived version here.(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

You can view an archived version here.(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

You can view an archived version here.(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

The image has been used over the years as a representational image by several news sites.

A reverse image search along with a relevant keyword search of “tribute to forces” led us to an article by The Quint, dated 13 March 2017, using the image as a representational image.

A comparison of the viral image with the original image can be seen below. The raised coffin, the tapes on the flag and the blue carpet are identical in both the images.

Viral Image (L) and Original Image (R)(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

The image was also used by FirstPost in 2013 and IndiaSpend in 2017, crediting the image to Reuters.

We also found the image in a Rediff News article dated 2010, stating that “CRPF personnel pay tribute to policemen who died in a Maoist attack in Dantewada.”

Further, reportedly six civilians and five soldiers were killed in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan, amid a major flare up at the LoC, not 28, as claimed.

NDTV had also reported the same figures, stating that four soldiers of the army and a Border Security Force (BSF) sub-inspector were killed in Pakistani firing.

Visuals reported by News18 and The Hindu of the tribute to the soldiers killed in the incident of 13 November are different from that of the viral image.

Border Security Force (BSF) officer lays wreath on the coffin of their colleague, who was killed in a ceasefire violation at the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir during a wreath laying ceremony in Humhama, on the outskirts of Srinagar, November 15, 2020.(Photo: The Hindu/Nissar Ahmed)

Although we have not been able to independently verify the date and location of the pictures, clearly an old image has been used to inflate the number of deaths of Indian soldiers in the recent ceasefire violation along the LoC.

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