Vande Bharat pelted with stones in Bengal's Malda; BJP demands NIA probe
Malda (WB) (PTI): Just a few days after its inaugural run, the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express was pelted with stones in West Bengal's Malda district, prompting the BJP to demand an NIA investigation into the incident.
No injuries, however, were reported in the incident that took place near Kumarganj railway station, around 50 km from Malda town, on Monday evening, a Railway official said.
The glass door of coach number C13 of 22303 Vande Bharat Express was damaged in the incident, he said.
Kumarganj falls under the jurisdiction of the Katihar division of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).
The train was not stopped mid-way after the incident took place at 5.10 pm on Monday and it halted at its designated stoppage at Malda Town railway station, the official said.
Malda Town railway station Government Railway Police (GRP) IC Prashant Rai said that Railway Protection Force (RPF) is investigating the matter.
The train was flagged-off virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Howrah station on December 30.
Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari wondered whether the incident was "revenge" for the raising of 'Jai Shree Ram' slogans at the inaugural function in Howrah station.
"Unfortunate & sickening. Stones pelted at India's pride Vande Bharat Express in WB's Malda district. Is this revenge for 'Jai Shree Ram' chants on the Inaugural day? I urge @PMOIndia & @RailMinIndia to handover the probe to @NIA_India & punish the perpetrators. @AshwiniVaishnaw," he tweeted.
BJP workers had raised 'Jai Shree Ram' slogans at the inauguration programme, as a result of which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to get up on the dais from where the train was flagged off.
Attempts by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Governor C V Ananda Bose to pacify her did not bear fruit, as she chose to sit on a chair below the dais along with the audience.
The incident had created a major controversy, with the Trinamool Congress taking exception to the raising of "political slogans" at a government programme, made more solemn by the death of the mother of the prime minister, while the BJP tried to downplay the incident, with Vaishnaw saying that nothing had occurred to cause any angst as party workers often raise slogans.
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Fact Check: AI-generated photos of Cristiano Ronaldo shared on social media with fake claim
New Delhi (PTI Fact Check): Multiple social media users shared several photos, claiming that they showed star football player Cristiano Ronaldo with his alleged wife Georgina Rodriguez. The users also claimed Ronaldo had converted to Islam and the photos were from their visit to Haram Sharif in Mecca, where they offered namaz. In its investigation, however, the PTI Fact Check Desk found that the photos shared on social media were fake. AI-generated photos were shared as real with a false claim.
Claim
An X (formerly Twitter) user shared on December 21 multiple photos of legendary football player Cristiano Ronaldo along with his alleged wife, Georgina Rodriguez. In the post, which has garnered over 247.5k views so far, the user claimed that the former had accepted Islam and offered namaz with Rodriguez at Haram Sharif in Mecca.
Here's the link, archive link, and screenshot of the post.
Investigation
The Desk ran the viral photos through Google Lens and found that they were shared by several other social media users as well.
Here's the link, archive link, and screenshot of one such Facebook post.
The Desk then ran a customized keyword search on Google, but could not find any authentic report on the viral images or on the claim that Ronaldo had accepted Islam.
In the next part of the investigation, the Desk closely watched the viral images and noticed several discrepancies, which suggested that they may be fake or AI-generated. For instance, the fingers of Ronaldo look disfigured or abnormal, along with blurred faces in the background. Below is a photo highlighting the same.
Taking a cue from this, the Desk ran the combination of photos through True Media, an AI detection tool, which suggested a substantial presence of AI-generated or deepfake content.
Below are the screenshots of the results:
Subsequently, the Desk concluded that the photos of Cristiano Ronaldo along with Georgina Rodriguez shared on social media were fake.
CLAIM
Star football player Cristiano Ronaldo, accepted Islam and offered prayers at Haram Sharif in Mecca along with Georgina Rodriguez.
FACT
AI-generated photos shared on social media falsely claimed that the two offered namaz at Haram Sharif in Mecca. Also, Ronaldo has not converted to Islam.
CONCLUSION
Multiple social media users shared a combination of photos, which showed star football player Cristiano Ronaldo with his alleged wife Georgina Rodriguez. The users claimed that Ronaldo had accepted Islam and the photos were their visit to Haram Sharif in Mecca, where they offered prayers. In its investigation, the Desk found that the photos were AI-generated and the claim of the player accepting Islam was fake.
(This story was originally published by PTI, and republished by english.varthabharati.in as part of the Shakti Collective)
