[SPAM] Last Rituals Of Rafale Pilot Svc No 32292 Squadron Leader Rohit Kataria
The fake post includes false claims about a 2008 photo shared as an IAF Pilot’s last rites.
Post Information:
The post below has been circulating on social media
Last Rituals Of Rafale Pilot Svc No 32292 Squadron Leader Rohit Kataria
🚨🚨
‼️Anthim Sanskar of Sqn Ldr Rohit Kataria (32292) 🇮🇳, the Rafale pilot died in the 7 May clash with PAF 🇵🇰, is being held today in Dharamshala.
He leaves behind his wife Shalini Chaudhary and 2-year-old son Chandan. pic.twitter.com/S8T6AI1rWs
— Proud Pakistani (@iluvyouawl) May 13, 2025
🚨🚨
‼️Anthim Sanskar of Sqn Ldr Rohit Kataria (32292) 🇮🇳, the Rafale pilot died in the 7 May clash with PAF 🇵🇰, is being held today in Dharamshala.
He leaves behind his wife Shalini Chaudhary and 2-year-old son Chandan. pic.twitter.com/S8T6AI1rWs
— Proud Pakistani (@iluvyouawl) May 13, 2025
‼️Big Breaking‼️
📍Last rituals of Rafale pilot Svc No 32292 Squadron Leader Rohit Kataria who lost his life during fight with Pakistan on 7 May being held in his ancestral abode Dharamshala.
📍He is survived by his spouse Shalini Chaudhary and a 2 year old son Chandan Kataria. pic.twitter.com/fXWknpsS0s
— Capt (R) Abhishek Dixit (@CaptADixit) May 12, 2025
Verification: The image dates back to April 2008 and shows villagers paying last respects at a mass cremation of fifteen school girls in Bamroli, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
A picture of a pyre on fire is going viral across social media, with numerous Pakistan-based handles posting that it is the last rites of the Rafale pilot Rohit Kataria, who was martyred on May 7 in Pakistan’s retaliatory attacks after India commenced Operation Sindoor. The post can be seen here, here.
The photograph has gone viral during the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict with the claim “Big Breaking: Last rituals of Rafale pilot Svc No 32292 Squadron Leader Rohit Kataria, who lost his life during a fight with Pakistan on 7 May, is being held in his ancestral abode, Dharamshala. He is survived by his spouse, Shalini Chaudhary and a 2-year-old son, Chandan Kataria.”
The false claim on an unrelated image is being shared on social media. Check the links shared below to know the facts:
The picture dates back to 2008. It has no connection to Operation Sindoor. The press release stated that IAF pilot Kataria’s service number was 27443, which differs from the 32292 mentioned in the viral claim. Rohit Kataria, service number 27443, was given the Vayu Sena Medal for dedication to duty.
PIB press release from January 25, 2024, listing recipients of the Vayu Sena Medal and other awards from the President, which mentions the same name, but the service number is 27443, and the rank is mentioned as GROUP CAPTAIN ROHIT KATARIA, FLYING (PILOT). Check the screenshot shared below from the link.
Additionally, the Indian Air Force has firmly stated that its pilots have safely returned home. Therefore, it was evident that the picture did not depict an IAF officer’s last rites.
A Google Lens search directed us to the same visual published on a stock image website — Getty Images, with the description”Indian villagers pay last respects at a mass cremation of fifteen school girls at the banks of the river Orsang in Bamroli, some 165 kms from Ahmedabad on April 16, 2008. At least 44 people, most of them children on their way to school, drowned when their bus plunged into the Narmada canal at Bodeli in the western Indian state of Gujarat.”
The image can also be seen on the Image website- Alamy.
The news was also published in India Today and TOI on April 17, 2008.
The same viral image was also shared by CNN with the description “India funeral pyre — Hindus pay last respects at a mass cremation of 15 school girls on the banks of the river Orsang in Bamroli in the Indian state of Gujarat, April 16, 2008″ on September 17th, 2011.
The viral photo is a 2008 photo of a group cremation of schoolgirls, who lost their lives in a bus accident in Gujarat while on their way to school, which is misleadingly asserted to be the funeral of a Rafale pilot, Group Captain Rohit Kataria.
Claim – Final rites of IAF Squadron Leader Rohit Kataria, who lost his life on May 7, 2025, during Operation Sindoor.
Conclusion -The image dates back to April 2008 and shows villagers paying last respects at a mass cremation of fifteen school girls in Bamroli, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
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Last Rituals Of Rafale Pilot Svc No 32292 Squadron Leader Rohit Kataria | Nokiye
Post Date: 20 May 2025
Post ID: #81797
