Fact-Check: That Photo of Sambit Patra With Vikas Dubey is Morphed

The Quint found that the image is morphed and the person in the photo is not Sambit Patra.

A viral image of BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra dancing at a function with history-sheeter Vikas Dubey is doing rounds on social media.

(Photo: Facebook/Altered by The Quint)

A morphed image of BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra dancing at a function with history-sheeter Vikas Dubey, who was killed in a police encounter on 10 July, is doing the rounds on social media.

THE CLAIM

The claim along with the image reads: “सम्बित पात्रा के साथ डांस करते विकास दुबे बड़ी मुश्किल से मिला है यह फोटो” [Translation: Accessed this photograph of Sambit Patra dancing with Vikas Dubey after great difficulty.]

The image is being massively circulated on Facebook and Twitter with the same misleading claim.

An archived version of the post can be viewed here.(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

An archived version of the post can be accessed here.(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

An archived version of the tweet can be accessed here.(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

An archived version of the page can be accessed here.(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

WHAT WE FOUND

A simple look at the image raised some red flags regarding its authenticity. The proportion of Sambit Patra’s face as compared to his body looked absurd and we suspected that it might’ve been tampered with.

A reverse image search using Google helped us find news reports by several outlets including NDTV, Amar Ujala and ABP Bihar, carrying the original image which had somebody else instead of Patra dancing alongside Dubey.

(Source: Amar Ujala/Screenshot)

Here’s a comparison of the two images.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

As illustrated, the viral image showing Sambit Patra dancing alongside Vikas Dubey has been tampered with.

This isn’t the first time that a fake image went viral to show Dubey with a politician. Earlier, an image of a local BJP leader from Kanpur with Yogi Adityanath was circulated on social media with a claim that it shows the UP chief minister alongside Dubey. The claim was debunked by The Quint.

Uttar Pradesh gangster Vikas Dubey was killed in an alleged encounter early on Friday, 10 July. He was the prime accused in the ambush in Kanpur that left eight cops dead.

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