No, Thiruvananthapuram Police Commissioner did not suffer a fatal cardiac arrest
The Verdict Misleading
The Commissioner's office told Logically Facts that he collapsed due to low blood pressure but recovered shortly after.
What is the claim?
A 45-second video of Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner Thomson Jose collapsing at an event has been shared with the claim that he suffered a cardiac arrest and died.
A Facebook user shared a video (archived here) with a caption in Telugu that translates to, "Yesterday, Thiruvananthapuram Police Commissioner Thomas Jose collapsed and died." Archive links to similar posts can be found here and here.
Screenshots of some of the posts circulating online (Source: Facebook/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)
However, the claim is misleading. Though Thomson Jose was seen collapsing at the event, it was due to low blood pressure, not a heart attack, and he recovered after medical aid.
What are the facts?
The viral video has the logo of Manorama News at the bottom left corner. Using this clue, we found the original video (archived here) shared by the news channel on Instagram. The post caption, in Malayalam, translates to: "Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner Thomson Jose collapsed during the Republic Day celebrations."
A Google search based on this caption led us to a report published by local news outlet Mathrubhumi on January 26, 2025, headlined: "City Police Commissioner faints at Republic Day event in presence of Kerala Governor."
According to the report, the incident happened at the Republic Day celebrations organized at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, on January 26. Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar was delivering his Republic Day speech when the Commissioner fainted suddenly due to heat stroke, the report stated, adding he was given medical aid in an ambulance at the venue. The report added that the Commissioner returned to the event after his condition stabilized.
Logically Facts contacted the Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner's office for more information on what happened. Sreeja VS, Confidential Assistant to the Commissioner, said, "The Commissioner collapsed due to low blood pressure. The Commissioner did not have breakfast that day; he had been at the parade grounds since early morning for the Republic Day celebrations. Nothing else happened to his health. He was provided initial medical aid, and then he was alright and resumed the event. He is perfectly alright now."
Sreeja VS added that a probe has been initiated into the false claims, and action will be taken.
The verdict
A video of the Thiruvananthapuram Police Commissioner collapsing due to low blood pressure has been shared with the false claim that he suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.
(This story was originally published by logicallyfacts.com, and republished by english.varthabharati.in as part of the Shakti Collective)
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Rupee falls 28 paise to 94.77 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 28 paise to 94.77 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday as market sentiment took a dramatic turn after reports emerged that the US and Iran are discussing a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at reducing tensions and reopening negotiations.
Forex traders said Brent oil prices, which had fallen to USD 98 on the US-Iran peace deal, edged slightly higher to USD 101 per barrel after investors weighed the prospects for a Middle East peace deal.
Moreover, factors such as unabated foreign capital outflows amid rising geopolitical uncertainties further dented investor sentiment.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.77 against the US dollar, registering a fall of 28 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee appreciated 69 paise to close at 94.49 against the US dollar.
"Markets are currently focused on the critical 48-hour window during which the US expects Tehran’s formal response through Pakistani mediators," said CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened Iran with more bombing if it doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz, amid a report that the warring sides were nearing an agreement to end the war.
US media outlet Axios reported, quoting US officials and two other sources, that the US and Iran were getting close to a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations.
The US expects Iranian responses on several key points over the next 48 hours, Axios reported, adding that nothing has been agreed yet. This was the closest the parties had been to an agreement since the war began.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 98.01, down 0.01 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.65 per cent at USD 101.83 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex declined 160.24 points to 77,798.28 in early trade, while the Nifty was down 30.25 points to 24,300.70.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 5,834.90 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
On the domestic macroeconomic front, the country's goods and services exports rose 4.6 per cent to an all-time high of USD 863.11 billion during 2025-26, up from USD 825.26 billion in 2024-25, despite global economic uncertainties, according to revised commerce ministry data.
Merchandise exports grew 0.93 per cent to USD 441.78 billion in the last fiscal year from USD 437.70 billion in 2024-25, the data showed.
