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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New Delhi: The Congress party, which recently launched its “Vote Chori” (vote theft) campaign demanding transparency in voter rolls, has released a promotional video on Instagram featuring actor Kay Kay Menon.

The video was shared with the caption: “Himmat Singh kuch keh rahe hain, jaldi se kar aao! Band karo”, translated as “Himmat Singh is saying something, go and do it quickly! Stop it.” It was followed by instructions to join the campaign: “To join the campaign — click the link in the bio or give a missed call to 9650003420.”

Himmat Singh is the name of the intelligence officer character portrayed by Kay Kay Menon in the Hotstar Specials series Special Ops.

The “Vote Chori” campaign, led by Congress Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, alleges large-scale manipulation in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, particularly in Karnataka’s Bangalore Central constituency, through fake voter entries, duplicate names, and invalid addresses. The campaign portal, votechori.in, enables citizens to access alleged evidence, report voter list discrepancies, and receive a digital certificate supporting the demand for machine-readable digital voter rolls.

The Election Commission has rejected the allegations as “false and misleading” and has asked Gandhi to either provide a signed declaration with supporting evidence under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, or issue a public apology. The BJP has described the campaign as a political stunt.

 
 
 
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