A social media post accompanying an image of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann along with his friends is being widely circulated with a claim that the photo is related to an incident where Bhagwant Mann and his friends were apprehended for stealing a bike. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Image showing police arrest of Bhagwant Mann and his friends for stealing a bike.
Fact: This image of Bhagwant Mann with his friends was captured on the occasion of Holi. Punjabi singer and actor Karamjit Anmol shared the same image with a description that the image is related to Holi. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the viral photo led us to a Facebook post of Karamjit Anmol, Punjabi singer & actor, which shared the same photo. The accompanying description of the photo reads ‘Holi memories with Bhagwant Mann & @manjitsidhu’. As per the reports, Karamjit Anmol is a childhood friend of Bhagwant Mann.
Further, Newschecker, a fact-checking agency reached out to Manjit Sidhu, whom Karamjit Anmol was referring to in the above-mentioned post. In their correspondence, Sidhu confirmed that it was him in the black t-shirt, next to Bhagwant Mann.
Further, according to Sidhu, as reported by Newschecker ‘The claim being made with the picture is fake. This picture is from 1994 or 1995 and is from Patiala. Canadian singer Harbhajan Mann had come to India at that time. The picture was taken on the roof of his house on the day of Holi. During this, Bhagwant Mann, Karamjit Anmol, and Harbhajan Mann were also present. Bhagwant Mann is my friend from college time.’
To sum it up, an old image of Bhagwant Mann celebrating Holi is passed off as Mann caught stealing a bike.
