Late Captain Anshuman Singh of the Indian Army was recently conferred the Kirti Chakra gallantry award. His wife Smriti Singh received the medal from President Droupadi Murmu on July 5.
Singh, posted as a medical officer with the 26th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment in the Siachen Glacier area, showed remarkable courage and sacrificed his life during a fire on July 19, 2023. A short circuit sparked the blaze in the Indian Army ammunition dump at Siachen in the early hours of the morning. Amid the chaos, Singh rescued fellow soldiers trapped in a fibre-glass hut disregarding his own safety. As the flames spread to a nearby medical investigation shelter, he attempted to recover life-saving medicines. In the process, he sustained severe burns and later succumbed to his injuries.
Soon after images and videos of Smriti Singh receiving the award had been released online, a screenshot of a derogatory comment by a Facebook user named Ahmad K directed at her went viral. The National Commission for Women (NCW) took cognizance of it and urged Delhi Police to take action against the perpetrator.
National Commission for Women (NCW) has identified a lewd and derogatory comment made by Ahmad K. from Delhi on a photo of a Kirt Chakra Captain Anshuman Singh’s widow. This act violates Section 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 67 of the Information Technology… pic.twitter.com/h2zvqfKGgy
— NCW (@NCWIndia) July 8, 2024
Following this, an image of two policemen posing with an apprehended person went viral on social media with users claiming that Ahmad K had been arrested by the police. Verified user @SonOfBharat7 tweeted the image whilst using several Islamophobic slurs. His tweet received over 6,80,000 views. (Archive)
Right-wing influencer Acharya Ankur Arya quote-tweeted the aforementioned tweet. (Archive)
Several other users tweeted the same image with the same claim. (Archives- 1, 2, 3, 4)
Click to view slideshow.Fact Check
Upon conducting a Google reverse image search with the viral photo, we found a tweet by the deputy commissioner of police, Central Delhi, dated July 6, 2024. The tweet announced that Mohammed Kasim, a proclaimed offender evading trial in a snatching case, had been apprehended through the diligent efforts of the PS Hauz Qazi staff.
Mohd Kasim, a proclaimed offender evading trial in a snatching case, has been apprehended by the diligent efforts of team of PS Hauz Qazi staff. This arrest, based on local intelligence and surveillance, highlights the ongoing commitment to justice and… pic.twitter.com/IkorIelLmW
— DCP Central Delhi (@DCPCentralDelhi) July 6, 2024
The tweet was shared two days before the NCW had released the statement urging the authorities to take action in the lewd comment case on July 8. It is pertinent to add that though the NCW did seek an FIR in the case, there are no reports of the same being actually registered or anyone being arrested in the case.
Hence, it is clear that social media users have falsely shared an image of a person named Mohammed Kasim arrested by Delhi Police, claiming it shows the Facebook user Ahmad K, accused of making objectionable remarks against Smriti Singh.
The post Derogatory comment against Smriti Singh: Arrested man in viral photo is not accused ‘Ahmad K’ appeared first on Alt News.
This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Shinjinee Majumder.