Fact-Check: Misleading claim about only Sonia Gandhi meeting WC-winning team in 2007 viral
New Delhi: A photo of former Congress President Sonia Gandhi posing with the 2007 Indian cricket World Cup winning team has gone viral on social media, sparking controversy. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell chief Amit Malviya shared the image, claiming that Gandhi met the team despite not being the Prime Minister, suggesting she did so due to 'her privilege'. The insinuation was that the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not get the opportunity to meet the team.
The Truth: This claim is misleading. Archival photos and reports confirm that the winning team also met with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on October 30, 2007.
Investigation:
1. Reverse Image Search: Conducting a reverse image search on the viral photo led to the same image on Getty Images. The description revealed that Sonia Gandhi, then Chairperson of India's UPA Government and Congress Party president, posed with the Indian cricket team at her residence in New Delhi on October 30, 2007.
2. Further Evidence: A similar Getty Images photo showed that the 2007 T20 Cricket World Cup winners also met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pratibha Patil.
3. Keyword Search: Using the keywords 'Manmohan Singh meets cricket team 2007 world cup' on Google led to a Times of India report published on October 31, 2007. This report included images of the team with Singh and noted that he was accompanied by Ambika Soni, Prithviraj Chavan, and Rajeev Shukla, among others.
4. Additional Images: Further images from October 30, 2007, were found in the PMO archives, showing Singh with the 2007 T20 Cricket World Cup winners.
Conclusion: The claim that only Sonia Gandhi met with the Indian cricket World Cup team in 2007 is misleading. The team also met with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, confirming that both leaders had interactions with the players.
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Jharkhand: 3 arrested for 'raping' 2 women in Gumla
Gumla (PTI): Three persons were arrested on Monday for allegedly raping two women at a village in Jharkhand’s Gumla district, police said.
All the three accused have been remanded to judicial custody, Gumla Sadar Police Station officer-in-charge, Mahendra Karmali, told PTI.
According to police, one of the women had been called to Gumla Sadar by her boyfriend on Sunday for an outing.
“She arrived at the spot accompanied by a female. The woman’s boyfriend then called a friend, and they took the two women to a secluded place in Sisai police station area in the evening, forcibly made them consume alcohol before raping them,” the officer said.
The accused later called another man to the spot, who also allegedly raped the women, he said.
“The women later reached the Sadar Police Station and lodged a complaint on Sunday night. Police conducted raids and nabbed the three accused on Monday,” he added.
Further investigation is underway.
