Old image of Kanhaiya Kumar goes viral with misleading claims

Viral image of Kanhaiya Kumar is not of the recent attack on him but is eight years old.

Voting is going on today in 58 seats in six states and two union territories, including all seven seats in Delhi in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Manoj Tiwari and Kanhaiya Kumar are facing each other from the North-East Delhi. Congress candidate from Northeast Delhi Kanhaiya Kumar was allegedly attacked by two men, one slapped him and another flung black ink — just as he was leaving the Aam Aadmi Party’s New Usmanpur office in Northeast Delhi during the election campaign. Against this backdrop, an image of Kanhaiya Kumar lying down has gone popular on social media. In this image, Kanhaiya Kumar is seen lying on the bed and it is being linked to the recent attack on him.

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Fact Check-

We began our investigation by keyword and reverse image search on Google, and whose results led us to a report published on NDTV’s website on 7 May 2016 featuring the same image with a caption, “Kanhaiya Kumar Calls Off Hunger Strike After Health Worsens”. As per report, Jawaharlal Nehru University’s (JNU) then student president Kanhaiya Kumar and his 19 other colleagues were on an indefinite hunger strike since 28 April. They were protesting against the punishment given by the high-level committee formed for investigation after a controversial program related to Kashmir in the university. Kanhaiya Kumar’s health deteriorated during the hunger strike, after which he was taken to JNU Health Center. The viral image is from that time.

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Moving forward, we have come across other news reports featuring similar pictures from different angles. Reports states that on 9 February 2016, a controversial event was held in Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University in which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. Following this event, student leaders Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, and Anirban Bhattacharya were arrested on sedition charges. After this controversy, JNU appointed a high-level committee. The committee’s report, released on 25 April 2016, led JNU authorities to fine Kanhaiya Kumar ₹10,000 and to rusticate Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya for one semester each. Kanhaiya and his fellow students went on a hunger strike against this punishment. Kanhaiya’s condition deteriorated after several days of striking, and he was hospitalized at the JNU health center. Later, he was transferred to AIIMS. Kanhaiya called off his hunger strike after his health deteriorated.

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Conclusion-Fact Crescendo has found the claim made along with the viral image to be Misleading. The viral image does not relate to the recent attack on Kanhaiya Kumar. It was taken when he was hospitalized after falling ill following a hunger strike in 2016.