Old image from Gujarat falsely shared as last rites of Rafale pilot killed in Pakistan airstrike

This image shows a mass funeral in Gujarat, for 15 schoolgirls killed in a tragic bus accident in 2008.

An image of a burning pyre surrounded by people is going viral on social media, with the claim that it shows the last rites of Rohit Kataria, a Rafale pilot killed on 7 May in the recent conflict with Pakistan.

The caption of the post states, “Last rituals of Rafale pilot Svc No 32292 Squadron Leader Rohit Kataria who lost his life during fight with Pakistan on 7 May being held in his ancestral abode Dharamshala”.

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Fact Check- 

We started our investigation with the keyword Rafale pilot Squadron Leader Rohit Kataria but we did not find any credible reports for this. Additionally, there are reports that the Indian Air Force said its pilots have reached back home safely. So, it was clear that the image did not show an IAF officer’s last rites.

By performing a reverse image search on Google, the results led us to a CNN report carrying a similar image on 9 September 2011, with the caption: “India funeral pyre — Indians pay last respects at a mass cremation of 15 school girls at the banks of the river Orsang in Bamroli on April 16, 2008.”

We also found the same image on the stock image website, Getty Images. The description states, “Indian villagers pay last respects at a mass cremation of fifteen school girls at the banks of the river Orsang in Bamroli, some 165 kms from Ahmedabad on April 16, 2008. At least 44 people, most of them children on their way to school, drowned when their bus plunged into the Narmada canal at Bodeli in the western Indian state of Gujarat”.

As per reports from April 2008, at least 44 schoolchildren and three adults, including the driver, were killed when a public bus plunged off a bridge in Gujarat. We came across multiple news reports from April 2008, stating that 44 people were killed when a bus fell into the Narmada canal at Bodeli village in Vadodara district.

Taking account of all these evidences, we can understand that the viral image is from 2008 and shows a mass funeral in Bamroli, Gujarat, for 15 schoolgirls killed in a tragic bus accident.

Conclusion- 

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral image to be False. The viral image shows a mass funeral in Gujarat, for 15 schoolgirls killed in a tragic bus accident in 2008.