CLAIM अभिनंदन की पत्नी का संदेश कि सैनिकों के बलिदान पर बीजेपी न करे राजनीति। #Abhinanadan https://t.co/1bA0628I9L — Yuva Desh (@yuvadesh) 1551352157000 TRUTH VERIFICATION AND METHODOLOGY COMPARISON Just when you think Rahul Gandhi’s Congress can’t stoop lower, they breach their own record. Faking a video by the… https://t.co/AsS71MPvAc — BJP (@BJP4India) 1551423242000 VERDICT Update: A video showing a woman, who introduces herself as an Indian Army officer's wife, requesting fellow Indians and politicians not to politicise the sacrifice of soldiers, is going viral with a claim that she is Wing Commander Abhinandan 's wife. The video is being shared widely on social media platforms and WhatsApp with the claim. The video has gone viral at a time when the nation is rejoicing the news that Abhinandan is returning to India today.In the video , the woman is saying: "Hello everyone. I am wife of an army officer. On behalf of all the families of all the armed forces, I request my fellow Indians, especially the political leaders, the political leaders... not to politicise the sacrifice of our soldiers. It takes so much to be a soldier. And just imagine the kind of tension, the kind of pain, the family of Abhinandan is going through right now. So please, till the time the tension is eased at Indo-Pak border, stop your political rallies and don’t you dare, I am repeating again, don’t you dare to snatch away the credit of our soldiers. Please, please stop counting your tickets and stop doing your politics here. You have enough times to play your politics but not at this time and not at the cost of our soldiers' sacrifice. It is my humble request to all political leaders, especially the BJP political leaders.”Dinesh Singta, who "works at" the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of of the Congress Party, as per his Facebook bio, shared the video yesterday with a caption that closely translates to, "Wing Commander Abhinandan ji's wife's message that the BJP shouldn't politicise soldiers' sacrifice." You can find an archived version of the post here The video he posted has gotten more than 2,39,000 views and was shared over 14,000 times since yesterday.The verified Twitter account of Yuva Desh, Indian Youth Congress ' online magazine, tweeted the same video, but this one with a yellow bar with text saying, "Humble request to BJP don't count your seats at the cost of soldiers sacrifice (sic)." You can find an archived version the tweet here The same video is being shared on WhatsApp as well, but without the claim that the woman is WC Abhinandan's wife.The woman seen in the video is not WC Abhinandan's wife.A simple search on Google using keywords " Abhinandan Varthaman wife" led us to an article published on Samayam Telugu website that carried the story of Abhinandan's wife -- Tanvi Marwaha -- a former Squadron Leader, and had her photo in the report.On searching Google with keywords "Tanvi Marwaha", we found a news report on TOI that said Abhinandan's wife, Squadron Leader Tani Marwaha, retired as a helicopter pilot.We compared the images of Marwaha and the woman in the viral video and found that they are two different people, clearly.The verified Twitter account of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), tweeted saying,"Just when you think Rahul Gandhi ’s Congress can’t stoop lower, they breach their own record. Faking a video by the name of braveheart Abhinandan’s wife for political propaganda is beyond even shameful. "Times Fact Check found that the claim that the woman seen requesting people and politicians not to politicise soldiers' sacrifice in a video that has gone viral is NOT Wing Commander Abhinandan's wife.The woman seen in the video is Sirisha Rao. From her Twitter account, it is clear that Rao volunteers for the Aam Aadmi Party. A report published in Boom said that Rao's husband was a Colonel in the Army and that she "did not wish to divulge further details." We couldn't independently verify if Rao's husband served in the Army.<doc-sep>Fake Video Alert While an entire demography of 130 crore Indians has spent two anxious days and sleepless nights worrying about the safety of its Wing Commander facing capture in Pakistan, it’s a crying shame that few have figured out the cheapest way of encashing the sensitivity of this situation. On one hand, it is sickening to witness renowned media houses reveal every detail the IAF pilot refused to divulge to the Pakistani Major, to the whole world, on the other hand there are people using the heat of this tensed situation to bake their political breads. Here is a video that has gone viral in the past two days. The video features a woman who introduces herself as an Army Officer’s wife but doesn’t disclose her name or that of her husband. She rants for a whole minute against political leaders, specially the BJP representatives, for politicizing the matter and warns them against minting tickets or seats out of the sacrifices of our soldiers. The video, posted on Facebook by Manjesh Kumar Asur has been shared over 1000 times and has gathered over 10 thousand views. While posting this video, the user writes, “इस वक्त पाकिस्तान के कब्जे फसे जवान अभिनंदन जी की पत्नी का संदेश देश वासियों को, साथ ही पॉलिटिकल पार्टी और नेताओं को सन्देस की वो इस पर राजनीति न करे खासकर #बीजेपी के लोग।“. This tricks people into believing that lady in the video is wife of the Wing Commander in Pakistan’s custody . And that she is warning the leaders of the BJP against politicizing his capture. However, this is a false claim. Neither is the lady in the video Abhinandan’s wife, nor does her conduct has accordance to what is expected from an army personnel’s relations, specially, when he is with the enemy. We also have pictures of Mrs. Varthaman but are unable to share them for security reasons. Evidently, this blatant lie is being peddled by the anti-Modi lobby. An utter disgrace for a country as a whole that it is home to people don’t flinch before exploiting such critical situations to further their petty and selfish agendas. With politics in India hitting a new low with every sunrise, one can only speculate about the next depravity it aims for. But again, there is no denying that social media is a commanding tool that plays a pivotal role in shaping public opinion. The responsibility lying with us is:<doc-sep>Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman (Photo: Still from an old interview with a TV channel) Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has overwhelmed the whole nation with his fortitude and courage in the face of enemy captivity. And why not? He comes from a family that has carried a legacy of serving the nation, for generations. Abhinandan's father, Retd Air Marshal S Varthaman was a highly decorated officer. And a consultant for Mani Ratnam's film 'Kaatru Veliyidai'. In a statement, Abhinandan's father spoke like a true warrior and gave the world a glimpse of what he taught his son to be -- a braveheart. He referred to a purported video of his son after his capture, and said he spoke like a "true soldier" despite being in captivity and that he was praying he would not get tortured in the neighbouring country and return home "safe and sound". Retd Air Marshal S Varthaman has been a recipient of several honours, including a Param Vishisht Seva Medal. Abhinandan's mother, Shobha Varthaman, is a doctor. Hours after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced Abhinandan would be released, his parents took a late flight from Chennai to Delhi and rightly received a standing ovation from their co-passengers. Besides Abhinandan's father, his grandfather had served the nation during World War II in the Air Force. India Today has also come to know that Abhinandan's brother has also been a part of the IAF. What more? Abhinandan's wife, Tanvi Marwah, it is said, has also contributed to the Force. HOW IT ALL HAPPENED Tension mounted between two countries after Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed over 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kasmir's Pulwama on February 14. India, in retaliation, carried out a pre-dawn airstrike on a JeM terror camp in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A day later, 24 Pakistan Air Force jets entered Indian airspace near LoC and dropped bombs in the Indian territory. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was reportedly captured on February 27 after his MiG-21 Bison was hit by the Pakistan Army across the Line of Control (LoC). On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that Abhinandan would be released Friday as a "peace gesture". INJURED ABHINANDAN FOUGHT CAPTORS AND SUCCINTLY CARRIED HIS FAMILY NAME Pakistani media reported how in the face of grave danger, our fighter pilot didn't panic or lose his mind. Instead, he fought his captors, fired into the air and swallowed important documents (which should not have been in enemy hands), before he was outnumbered and captured. All this, while he was bleeding profusely after the crash. Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported: "The pilot, who was equipped with a pistol, asked the youngsters whether it was India or Pakistan. On this, one of them intelligently responded that it was India. The pilot, later identified as Wing Commander Abhi Nandan, shouted some slogans and asked which place exactly it was in India. To this, the same boy responded that it was Qilla'n." The pilot told them that his "back was broken" and he needed water to drink.<doc-sep>Watch: IAF pilot Abhinandan’s parents get standing ovation on Chennai-Delhi flight Before flying to Delhi on Thursday night, Wing Commander Abhinandan’s father said that he will be able to speak only after seeing his son. news Abhinandan Passengers on board the Chennai-New Delhi flight on Thursday night were quick to identify the couple travelling with them and burst into cheers and claps as they walked towards their seats. Veteran Air Marshal (Retd.) Simhakutty Varthaman and wife Shobha Varthaman were travelling to New Delhi to receive their son, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who is scheduled to return to India on Friday. Just stop everything you are doing and watch this. Proud and courageous parents of Wing Commander Abhinandan being welcomed into the Chennai-Delhi flight with spontaneous clapping and loud cheer. Much respect for the couple. Valour of your son would be a tale narrated forever.pic.twitter.com/PTfRCTzAa6 — Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) March 1, 2019 Since Wednesday, February 27, Wing Commander Abhinandan has been in Pakistani custody. His MiG-21 Bison aircraft shot down a Pakistani F-16 in an aerial engagement but also received hits and landed across the LoC. On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced in the Pakistan National Assembly that the Indian pilot will be released on Friday as a ‘gesture of peace’. According to reports, Abhinandan will be brought to the Wagah-Attari joint check post around 4 pm on Friday. Apart from the Indian Air Force who will receive the pilot at Wagah border, hundreds of people have started converging at the Wagah border, waving the Indian flag and raising chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ to welcome the pilot back home. The pilot’s father had refused to speak to the media following Abhinandan’s capture and on Thursday night, he told media houses that he just wanted to see him first. “I just want to see him first. I can only talk after that,” Veteran Air Marshall Varthaman told the Hindu. Wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman was one of the pilots in the package of 8 Indian aircraft which fought the package of 24 Pakistani aircraft which invaded the Indian airspace on Wednesday. While the pilot shot down an F16 that was part of the Pakistan package, his Mig 21 was hit by a missile following which he had to eject and land across the border in Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir. The pilot was taken into custody by the Pakistan army on the same day. On Thursday, Pakistan announced they would return him by Friday. Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s announcement to release the pilot comes after massive pressure from the international community to adhere to the Geneva Conventions. India had also taken a tough stance and had refused to negotiate his release.<doc-sep>
The woman in the video who was claimed to be Abhinandan Varthaman's wife In the video, the woman requests fellow Indians and politicians not to politicise the sacrifice of soldiers. The video has been shared widely across multiple social media channels gaining over 239,000 views and 14,000 shares. The Indian Youth Congress’ online magazine, Yuva Desh, tweeted the one-minute video purporting that the message was from Mr Varthaman’s wife. The video was also retweeted by Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and other members of the government. The woman has since been identified as Sirisha Rao who is the wife of an army officer but not of Mr Varthaman. She said on Twitter after the video went viral: “I am the wife of an Army officer. "A responsible citizen of India. I shared my feelings as our sentiments were hurt by some politicians.” Mr Varthaman was captured by Pakistani forces as tensions between Pakistan and India escalated this week. READ MORE: World War 3: India and Pakistan 'on brink' of nuclear WAR Mr Varthaman was captured by Pakistani forces as tensions between Pakistan and India escalated The two countries both said they shot down each other’s fighter jets on Wednesday after Indian planes struck inside Pakistan on Tuesday for the first time since 1971. Tensions were sparked after 40 Indian paramilitary police died in a suicide car bombing allegedly perpetrated by Pakistan-based militants in Kashmir. Today residents gathered near the India-Pakistan Wagah border crossing to watch the release of the IAF pilot in a gesture of peace. The pilot appeared to have bruised eyes and as he stood at the border upon his release. Indian citizens waiting for the return of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman The Pakistan government’s official Twitter account released a video of a man they claimed to be Mr Varthaman. In the video, the man’s face was bloodied and bruised as he gave his name and service number. India’s foreign ministry said the pilot’s treatment was a “vulgar display of injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention.” Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed the release was part of a “peace gesture”. READ MORE: Fears of ALL OUT WAR as India accuses Pakistan of ‘aggression’ Indian students prayed for the speedy release of Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman