2015 image shared as recent attacks in Manipur on Assam Rifles personnel

The claim made along with the image is misleading and it shows an image published in 2015 showing attack on Indian Army personnel in Manipur.

On November 13, a deadly ambush of a convoy of Assam Rifles took place in Churachandpur district in Manipur.  It claimed the lives of five Assam Rifles personnel including Viplav Tripathi, the commanding officer of 46 Assam Rifles, along with his wife and eight-year-old son.

Following the incident, an image started circulating on social media claiming to show the aftermath of the ambush. The image shows police officers standing in front of a burnt defense van.

BJP’s Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had shared this image on his official Facebook profile. The caption of the post roughly translated to English mentions, “The attack on an army convoy by terrorists at Singhat in Churachandpur district of Manipur is the cowardice of the country’s enemies. I bow to the 7 brave soldiers of Assam Rifles who were martyred. The injured heroes should get speedy recovery. We are grateful and indebted to you. The condolences of the whole country are attached to the family. It is certain that those cowardly attackers will not be spared. #Manipur”

The caption in Hindi is as follows:  “मणिपुर के चुराचांदपुर जिले के सिंघाट में आतंकियों द्वारा सेना के काफिले पर किया गया हमला देश के दुश्मनों की कायरता है।
मैं शहीद हुए असम राइफल्स के 7 जांबाजों को नमन करता हूं। घायल वीरों को शीघ्र स्वास्थ्य लाभ मिले। हम आपके कृतज्ञ और ऋणी हैं। परिजनों से पूरे देश की संवेदनाएं जुड़ी हुई हैं। यह तय है कि उन कायर हमलावरों को बख्शा नहीं जाएगा। #Manipur”

Facebook Post 

This image is also widely circulating on Facebook 

Fact Check-

We started our investigation by running a Google reverse image search on the image, whose results led us to the same image published by a stock image website named Getty Images. According to Getty, this image was taken on 4 June 2015 in Chandel district in Manipur. The image shows Indian security personnel standing near a burnt vehicle wreckage after a military convoy was attacked.

The caption mentions, “In this photograph taken on June 4, 2015, Indian security personnel stand alongside the smouldering vehicle wreckage at the scene of an attack on a military convoy in a remote area of Chandel district, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) southwest of northeastern Manipur’s state capital Imphal. Heavily armed rebels in India’s restive northeast killed at least 20 troops on June 4, police said, in one of the area’s worst such attacks in years.”

The Economic Times and NDTV used this image in their news reports published in 2015, describing the image to be of the attack on military convoy in Manipur. The caption of the image mentions, “18 army-men were killed and at least 11 injured when militants ambushed their convoy in Manipur’s Chandel district on Thursday morning.” 

Also Read: Video from Pakistan viral as protest rally against Tripura violence in Mumbai

Conclusion- 

Fact Crescendo found that the viral photo tweeted by Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The viral image dates back to 2015 when a military convoy was attacked in Manipur. The image has no connection with the recent attack on the convoy of Assam Rifles in Manipur in which Commander Viplav Tripathi and his family were murdered.