Facebook user ‘দূর্গা খাতুন’ (Durga Khatoon) shared a photograph of three police officials claiming that they are siblings. The elaborate caption in Bengali says that girls are not a burden to a family and they should be given equal opportunity. It claims that the three brothers and sisters are IPS officers—”এক পরিবারে তিন ভাই বোন IPS অফিসার.” The post received a whopping 7,600 shares.
A user from Bangladesh shared Khatoon’s post drawing 1.500 likes. The same picture was also shared by Bangladeshi pages ‘প্যারাময় জীবনের অপর নাম মেডিকেল’ and ‘মেডিকেল ক্যাম্পাস’ gathering over 2,000 likes cumulatively.
The claim has also been shared with an English caption.
On Twitter, Mousomi Khatoon who identifies as the convenor of the Buniadpur Mahavidyalaya Trinamool Chatra Parisad (youth wing of TMC) shared the same.
শুধু জিনস,সিগারেট নয়…সমান অধিকার,সমান মর্যাদা বলতে এটা বুঝতে হবে সমাজকে♥️
এক পরিবারে তিন ভাই বোন IPS অফিসার!!
মেয়ে মানে “কাঁধের বোঝা” নয়,আমাদের উচিত মেয়েদেরকে “বোঝা!”সঠিক সুজোগ পেলে শুধু ছেলে নয় মেয়েও বংশের মুখ উজ্জল করবে!! pic.twitter.com/U76x3g1wwT— Mousami Khatun (@KhatunMousami) September 3, 2020
Fact-check
A reverse image search on Google took us to the original picture uploaded by IPS Probationer in Haryana cadre Pooja Vashisth on her Instagram account on August 22.
Vashisth had tagged IPS Shrut Kirti Somavanshi of MP cadre and Tushar Gupta, Punjab cadre. Gupta had also uploaded the same photograph shot at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy.
The fact that all of them have different surnames and are from different states proves they cannot be siblings. Somavanshi and Gupta had also put a clarification on the misinformation after Boomlive’s story debunking the rumour.
Independent journalism that speaks truth to power and is free of corporate and political control is possible only when people start contributing towards the same. Please consider donating towards this endeavour to fight fake news and misinformation.
