Media outlets miseport jailed AAP leader Satyendra Jain’s face was ‘bruised’

by Abhishek Kumar

On May 30, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Delhi minister Satyendra Jain in an alleged money laundering case. He was then remanded in custody from May 31 to June 9. On June 9, the Rouse Avenue District Court in Delhi, on the orders of the Enforcement Directorate, extended the custody of the Aam Aadmi Party politician until June 13. However, in the meantime, his health deteriorated following which he was rushed to Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

Against this backdrop, a photo of Satyendra Jain has gone viral with the claim that he is bleeding from his mouth.

Punjab Kesari reported, “Photo of Enforcement Directorate detained leader Satyendra Jain bleeding from the mouth viral, ‘God will hold everyone in the BJP accountable’ – AAP”. (Archive link)

Times Now Navbharat Pulkit Nagar journalist Pulkit Nagar tweeted the photo and wrote that this was an image of the individual who brought the Mohalla Clinic to Delhi. It was also retweeted by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Several prominent news portals carried the image of Jain with the same claim. Among them were Jansatta, Navjivan, APN News, NDTV, Hindustan Times, Financial Express, Janta Ka Reporter, ABP News, and Sakshi News.

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A number of Aam Aadmi Party leaders and social media users also amplified the photo.

Fact-check

Alt News performed keyword searches on Google and Twitter to gather more information on the picture. This led us to some similar photos of Satyendra Jain, in which he is seen in the same shirt he is wearing in the viral image. It is worth noting that there is no injury to his face nor is he bleeding in these pictures.

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Rahul Singh, a photojournalist from news agency ANI, had tweeted a picture of Satyendra Jain in which a shadow of a tree was reflected on one half of his face. The background of the photo tweeted by Singh matches that of the viral photo perfectly. However, due to the two images being taken a few seconds apart, the shadow of the tree on Satyendra Jain’s face appears a bit different. Tweeting this, the photojournalist added that the photo was taken on June 9, 2022, when Jain was being brought to the ED office from the Rouse Avenue District Court.

The viral image actually contains a shadow of a tree reflected on the car window. Given below are two photos of the same place, but the frames of both are different. It is noteworthy that the shape of the tree’s shadow is identical in both images. In the side by side comparison below, the shadow of the tree has been marked in the two photos. This shows the real origin of the marks seen on Satyendra Jain’s face.

To sum it up, the blot seen on Satyendra Jain’s face in the viral image was actually the result of a reflection of a tree on the car window, and not an injury or blood stain. It was mistakenly circulated by several media outlets, politicians, and social media users as a blood stain.

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About the Author

Abhishek is a senior fact-checking journalist and researcher at Alt News. He has a keen interest in information verification and technology. He is always eager to learn new skills, explore new OSINT tools and techniques. Prior to joining Alt News, he worked in the field of content development and analysis with a major focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).