New Delhi, April 17: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday condoled the death of four members of an Indian family in the US who were reported missing earlier this month.
"My heartfelt condolences on the tragic deaths of Sandeep Thotapilly, Soumya and their two children," Sushma Swaraj tweeted.
Stating that all the four bodies have been recovered from Eel river in California, she said that the government is helping their families in the visa process to enable their travel to the US.
Searchers recovered the submerged bodies of Sandeep Thottapilly, 41, and his daughter, Saachi, 9, from the Eel River in Leggett, California, on Sunday, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Monday.
A body recovered last week was later identified as Thottapilly's wife, Soumya, 38. The body of the couple's son, Siddhant, 12, was discovered around 4 p.m. on Monday. He was the last to be found, ABC-owned TV station KABC cited the authorities as saying.
The family were on a road trip to Oregon in their SUV and were returning to their home in California, when they went missing.
They were reported missing on April 8 when they failed to show up for a visit at their relatives place in San Jose.
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Aaj Tak, NDTV, India TV among channels that aired 4-year-old video as Jaisalmer airstrike
New Delhi: Amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, several prominent Indian TV news channels, including Aaj Tak, NDTV, and India TV, aired a video on May 9 claiming it showed the Indian Army intercepting a Pakistani airstrike in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. However, a fact-check by Alt News revealed that the footage is at least four years old and completely unrelated to any recent conflict.
The video was broadcast during a segment on Aaj Tak hosted by anchor Anjana Om Kashyap, where it was described as footage of the Indian military thwarting a Pakistani airstrike “moments ago.” The same footage was aired in another bulletin presented by Sweta Singh on the same channel.
NDTV similarly presented the video as depicting live action from Jaisalmer. India TV and several other outlets — including Times Now, Times Now Navbharat, ABP News, News18, News Nation, and OneIndia also aired the same video with identical claims.
What’s the truth?
According to Alt News, the video was originally uploaded on May 11, 2021, by a YouTube channel named NSFchannel. The title of that video suggests it depicts Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system in action, not an Indian military engagement.
Although Alt News stated it has not independently verified the video’s exact origin, it confirmed that it is at least four years old and unrelated to the current India-Pakistan situation.
In conclusion, multiple national news broadcasters misrepresented an old video, presenting it as real-time footage of Indian forces intercepting a Pakistani airstrike in Jaisalmer, a claim now debunked through fact-checking.
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