52 Indian soldiers killed by Pakistan in shelling? No; viral video is staged, says PIB

Note: We have only used screenshots in this story, considering the graphic nature of the video, which could be triggering for some readers.

A video showing deceased soldiers near what appears to be a boundary wall with fires around is being circulated by many social media accounts. In the video, it seems as though the person recording it is saying that there was heavy shelling at the border, in which Pakistan killed many Indian soldiers. Those sharing the video also claimed that 52 soldiers of the 20 Raj Battalion of the Indian Army were martyred.

This video has emerged amid a sea of unverified visuals and claims on social media that try to show damage caused by India or Pakistan in the recent conflict that was triggered by the killing of 26 civilians in Kashmir. A fortnight after this, India launched Operation Sindoor to target terror bases in Pakistan. Shortly after, the Pakistan armed forces retaliated with shelling across border areas, also targeting Indian military infrastructure.

Pakistan-based account War Analyst, withheld in India, shared the video claiming it showed footage from Pakistan’s strike on the Sangar post of Chirikot, and the visual was being shared among army folks in India on WhatsApp. The user wrote that India was covering up the loss of 52 Indian soldiers along the Line of Control while their families were mounting pressure on the Indian government to reveal these deaths.

The video was shared by Conflict Watch with the same claim as well as RTEUrdu, a Turkish media outlet. RTEUrdu wrote that the video was taken by an Indian soldier.

Fact Check

Several things in the video raise doubts.

• Firstly, the claims alleged that an Indian Army post faced heavy shelling. But in the video, the so-called post seems safe. If there was heavy shelling that caused a fire, far more damage would clearly be visible, which is not the case here.
• Secondly, the tone of the person recording the video is funny, as though it is being enacted or forcefully dramatised. In such a situation it is more likely that someone recording the footage would worried or distraught.
• Thirdly, the viral post claims that 52 Indian soldiers have been killed and their families are pressuring the government. But had this been true and the government were hiding it, news outlets in India would have surely carried stories on it. The Indian Army has said that it lost five soldiers.

Importantly, the uniform worn by the soldiers in the viral video is old. The Indian Army does not don this uniform anymore; it was changed in 2022. A comparison of the old and new uniforms can be seen below.

A report by The Indian Express from January 2022 also explained the difference between the old and new uniforms of the army. Below is a screenshot of their graphic.

The fact-checking unit of the Indian government, PIB Fact-Check, also dubbed the video fabricated and said there was no unit called “20 Raj Battalion” in the Indian Army. It added that this was part of a propaganda campaign to create panic and mislead people during the conflict.

🚨 Staged Video Alert 🚨

Fake video is being circulated by Pakistani handles alleging that an Indian Post was destroyed by the #Pakistani Army

🔍 #PIBFactCheck:

✅ The claim is completely false, and the video is staged

❌ There is no unit called “20 Raj Battalion” in the… pic.twitter.com/959rc9OrTH

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 8, 2025

Based on these findings, Alt News established that the video does not depict martyred soldiers from the recent India-Pakistan conflict. Claims that 52 soldiers were martyred in firing by Pakistan are unsubstantiated.