Old video of disrespect to National Flag by Panchayat executive officer in Odisha goes viral as Deputy Registrar from Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh

This video is not from Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh but from Simili Panchayat of Odisha. It dates back to October 2023.

A video of a person cleaning tables and chairs with the national flag is going viral on social media. It is being claimed that this person is the Deputy Registrar of Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh insulting the national flag. 

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Fact Check- 

We started the investigation with keyword and reverse image search on Google and the results led us to a report published by the Odishabytes on 12 January, 2023 with the headline: “Panchayat  EO uses tricolor to clean office in Odisha’s Puri!”

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As per the Times of India report, the incident occurred at the Simili Gram Panchayat office in Puri in October 2022. A meeting was scheduled to take place in the office and before that, Swain discovering the furniture was dusty, wiped them with the Indian National Flag.

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We also found a Twitter post from the official account of the Fact Check Wing of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, dated 23 January 2023. The post states, “The video is not from Anantapur, but Odisha. Many such misleading tweets/posts with the same video in Telugu Language has been identified and sent for further action. Misleading post with fake narrative is a legal offence”. 

The video was reportedly shot by a ward member, and following its leaking on social media, the police booked Swain under the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act, 1971.

So, an old video of disrespect to National Flag from Odisha is falsely shared as that of a Deputy Registrar from Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. 

Conclusion-

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video to be Misleading. This video is not from Anantapur but from Simili Panchayat of Odisha. The person seen in the video is not a deputy registrar but the executive officer of the Panchayat, Prashant Kumar Swain. It dates back to October 2023.