An old video of an army aspirant emotional after his recruitment is falsely shared as an Indian Army soldier crying before heading to the war
Following the 22 April 2025 terror attack in Pahalgam, India launched Operation Sindoor on the night of 07 May 2025, prompting intense cross-border firing and military operations along the Line of Control (here, here, and here).
On 10 May 2025, the Indian government announced that a ceasefire agreement had been reached between India and Pakistan following the operation (here, here, here, and here). According to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) called his Indian counterpart at 3:35 pm that day, and both sides agreed to cease firing by 5:00 am Indian Standard Time (here, here). However, India later accused Pakistan of violating the ceasefire within hours by opening fire, prompting a strong response from Indian forces. Misri confirmed that the Indian military was giving a “befitting reply” to the ceasefire breach.
On 11 May 2025, top officers from India’s Army, Navy, and Air Force addressed a press conference to share details of Operation Sindoor. The briefing was led by Indian Army DGMO Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai, Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, and Vice Admiral Pramod. The officers presented videos and satellite images showing the extent of India’s military actions on Pakistani territory. Air Marshal A.K. Bharti stated that the Indian Air Force carried out targeted strikes on terror camps located in Bahawalpur and Muridke, sharing before-and-after visuals of the attacks. He also said that Pakistan had launched drone attacks against India, but these were swiftly intercepted and destroyed. In retaliation for the Pakistani aggression, India targeted and damaged airbases and radar facilities in Lahore, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Rahim Yar Khan, Chaklala (Nur Khan), Saqr, Bholari, and Jacobabad. Amidst these developments, a video going viral on social media (here, here, and here) claims to show an Indian Army soldier crying before heading to the border during the ongoing India-Pakistan war. Let’s verify the claim made in the post through this article.
Claim: The video shows an Indian Army soldier crying before heading to the border during the ongoing India-Pakistan war.
Fact: The video was originally shared on 27 April 2025, well before India launched Operation Sindoor on 07 May 2025. It features students from a private defence coaching academy in Indore celebrating their selection into the Indian Army. The man seen crying became emotional upon receiving news of his successful recruitment. PIB Fact Check, through its official X handle, clarified that the video has no connection to the Indian Army. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of the keyframes from the viral video led us to an Instagram page named ‘indore_physical_academy01’. The individuals seen in this video matched those in the viral clip, and the background setting and events were identical. The video was originally shared on 27 April 2025, well before military tensions escalated on 07 May 2025, when India launched Operation Sindoor targeting terror-linked infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The same person seen comforting the crying man in the viral clip appears in other videos on the page as well (here, here, and here). He runs a physical training academy in Indore.
We also came across a post on X by the Government of India’s fact-checking unit, PIB Fact Check, published on 09 May 2025. The post clarified that the video was originally shared on Instagram on 27 April and is not related to the Indian Army. It further stated that the video shows students from a private defence coaching institute celebrating their selection into the Army. The young man seen crying in the video reportedly became emotional with joy after learning about his successful recruitment.
We also attempted to contact the Indore Physical Academy using the phone number provided, but did not receive a response. We will update the article once we hear back from them.
To sum up, an old video of an army aspirant emotional after his recruitment is falsely shared as an Indian Army soldier crying before heading to the war.