2019 Video of Patanjali’s Acharya Balkrishna at AIIMS Goes Viral

Patanjali CEO Acharya Balkrishna was admitted in AIIMS Rishikesh on August 2019.

The viral claims Acharya Balkrishna has suffered a cardiac arrest

(Source: Photo altered by The Quint)

In the backdrop of self-proclaimed Yoga guru Baba Ramdev's statement against allopathy and doctors, an old viral video is doing the rounds with the claim that Patanjali Ayurved’s Acharya Balkrishna is hospitalised at AIIMS after suffering a cardiac arrest.

However, the video is from 2019 when Balkrishna was hospitalised at AIIMS Rishikesh after complaining of suspected food poisoning symptoms.

CLAIM

The claim along with the video reads, “अति दुर्लभ वीडियो जब पतंजलि वाले बालकृष्ण जी को दिल का दौरा पड़ा तो ना तो उन्हें दिव्या अर्जुन क्वाथ दिया गया और ना अनुलोम विलोम करवाया , लेकर भागे सीधा AIIMS !! और आज रामदेव डॉक्टरों और एलोपैथ को गाली दे रहे , मज़ाक़ बना रहे हैं , ये शर्मनाक है.”

(Translation: A video of when Patanjali’s Balkrishana suffered a heart attack, neither was he given a safety Arjun kawach or made to do anulom vilom, but he was rushed to AIIMS. And here is Ramdev, who is going around taking a dig at doctors and allopathy, making fun, this is shameful.)

An archived version of the post can be found here.(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

Another picture of Balkrishna is also being circulated with a similar claim.

An Archived version of the Facebook post can be found here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

The claim is viral on Twitter and Facebook and the archived links can be found here, here, and here. We also received multiple queries on our WhatsApp tipline as well.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

Using relevant keywords on YouTube, we found the same video that was published on YouTube on 26 August 2019.

(Source: YouTube/Screenshot)

Balkrishna was hospitalised at AIIMS in Rishikesh on 23 August 2019 in a state of “altered consciousness”, a medical condition where a patient fails to recognise his immediate surroundings. He was discharged a day later after his vital parameters were found to be normal, the Times of India had reported.

Amar Ujala also reported about his deteriorating health and the viral photo is attributed to the daily.

(Source: Amar Ujala/Screenshot)

Clearly, an old photo and an old video has been passed off with the claim that Balkrishna is hospitalised now.

BABA RAMDEV'S TIRADE AGAINST ALLOPATHY

Ramdev has made several misleading statements against allopathy and doctors in the past. He has made several such statements about possible cures, remedies for treating COVID-19 in the past, which have been fact-checked repeatedly.

Without evidence or data, Ramdev has falsely claimed that 1,000 doctors have died even after getting both doses of the vaccine.

While India was grappling with a massive shortage of oxygen and hospitals and several states were putting out SOS calls for oxygen, Ramdev was seen talking to a crowd and mocking the situation.

You can read a detailed fact-check on the same here.

(Update: The story has been updated to remove a tweet by AAP MLA Shiv Charan Goel as his tweet had mentioned that the video is from 2019.)

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