On 9 July 2025, during the INDIA bloc’s Bihar Bandh protests, Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar and Purnia MP Pappu Yadav were stopped from boarding an open van where Rahul Gandhi, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and other politicians boarded. Against this backdrop, a photo of Pappu Yadav lying on the road went viral on social media with the claim that he was dragged on the road by the security personnel during the Bharat Bandh protest on 9 July.
However, as we investigated, we came to know that the claim was misleading. The viral photo is old and unrelated to the Bharat Bandh protests on 9 July 2025. Here’s the fact check.
Fact Check
We started our investigation by conducting a reverse image search. This led us to a Facebook post where the viral photo was uploaded on 29 October 2024.
Although the caption didn’t mention the location or time of this photo, it’s clear that the photo predates the Bharat Bandh protests on 9 July 2025.
Moving forward, we conducted a relevant keyword search and found a report published on a website on 23 December 2020 which carried a photo similar to the viral one, but shot from a different angle.
According to the report, Pappu Yadav with his party workers were protesting against the farm laws introduced by the centre. During the “Kisan Nyay March”, chaos erupted when the police tried to stop the protesters.
The report contained a tweet on Pappu Yadav’s official X handle on 22 December 2020 which contained a similar photo along with other photos.
Other reports can be read here, here and here.
This makes it clear that the viral photo is old.
Conclusion
From our investigation, we can say that the claim is misleading. The viral image of Pappu Yadav doesn’t show him after he was stopped from boarding the open van during the Bharat Bandh protest on 9 July 2025. The photo is from a protest in Patna against the farm laws in 2020.
Title:Old Photo Of Pappu Yadav Going Viral Linking To The Recent ‘Bharat Bandh’ Protests In Bihar.
Fact Check By: Debanjana BaishyaResult: Misleading
