The photo of a woman donning an army uniform leading a procession with an infant in her hands is doing rounds on social media on Monday. Those sharing the image claimed the woman in the picture was Major Kumud Dogra with her five-day-old child on her way to pay homage to her husband, who was a Wing Commander in the Indian Air Force and died in the line of duty.
The users also criticised politicians and media for sidelining the story of Major Dogra's courage amidst the extravagant pre-wedding bash hosted by the Ambanis.
"Major Smt Kumud Dogra... in her arms is her five days old baby and her feet marching towards the dead body of her husband Wing Cmdr D Vats... a rare epitome of courage... salute to you Major Smt Dogra. No media has covered this news on any channel. The whole country was more bothered about 3 days Jamnagar extravaganza. Sad that our service people don't even get a bit of respect from the Politicians and the Media," the viral post read.
Did IAF lose a Wing Commander recently? If so, did the media ignore his martyrdom? The Week probed
OSINT Probe
When the name "Kumud Dogra" was Googled, the top result was an India Today article from 2018. "Army officer attends martyred husband's funeral with 5-day-old baby, leaves Twitter teary eyed," the headline of the story published on May 17, 2018 read.
The photo alongside the viral post was used in the article as well, it was found. "Major Kumud Dogra attending husband's funeral with 5-days-old daughter in her arms," it was captioned.
Media reports from 2018 had the same photo of Major Kumud Dogra with her child.
According to the report, Major Dogra lost her husband Wing Commander D Vats on February 15 after his IAF plane crashed in Jorhat. The photo was taken when Major Dogra arrived in full Army uniform to pay last respects to her husband.
We also found other news reports that confirmed the incident. Some of these reports were filed in February -- only days after the fatal crash that claimed Wing Commander D Vats's life.
The news was reported soon after the fatal crash, a Google search showed.
Thus, it became clear that the claim made in the viral post is half-true. Although the story behind the photo is true, it is being taken out of context in the backdrop of the pre-wedding ceremonies hosted by the Ambanis to mislead the public.
FACT CHECK
Claim: Indian media and politicians ignored the martyrdom of an IAF officer amidst Anant Ambani's grand party
Verdict: Not True
Fact: Although the story narrated in the post is true, it happened in 2018. The development was covered across media platforms
