Kolkata Rape Case: Image of Intern Passed Off as TMC MLA Soumen Mahapatra’s Son

We found that the viral image shows one Subhadeep, who is the son of a primary school teacher.

Fact-Check | This post is misleading and does not show the real facts.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A post is being circulated on the internet with a claim that Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Soumen Mahapatra's son was interning at the RG Kar Medical College and has been underground since the murder case.

What do viral posts say?: Carrying two pictures of separate individuals, social media users have insinuated that Mahapatra's son was involved in the rape and murder case.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)

The same claim is viral in Bangla, where users have shared an image of a man dressed in a casual attire as Mahapatra's son.

You can view an archive of the post here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

(More archives of similar claims can be viewed here and here.)

Are these claims true?: No, the person seen in the viral claim is being misidentified as TMC leader Mahapatra's son. He was identified as one Subhadeep, son of a primary school teacher named 'Prabir Singh Mahapatra'.

West Bengal police refuted viral claims: On going through the official Facebook handle of West Bengal Police, we found a post that refuted the viral social media claims.

• The post was published on 16 August and said that fake claims about an intern named Subhadeep being missing since the incident is being circulated.

• It mentioned that, in reality, Subhadeep belongs to Bankura and is the son of a primary school teacher named 'Prabir Singh Mahapatra'.

• This post further clarified that Subhadeep has no relations with any minister and that he is not missing either. During the investigations, Kolkata police had also spoken to him.

• The handle also requested people to not spread misinformation and said that FIRs have been filed at local police stations.

News reports: A report published in Anandabazar Patrika — a Bengali daily — said that TMC leader Soumen Mahapatra and his wife recently conducted a press conference address social media rumours.

• He said that the person's image and name being circulated on the internet is not his son.

• Mahapatra said that his son is named 'Bodhisattva Mohapatra', who completed his medical studies in 2017.

• He further mentioned that his son currently works as Block Medical Officer of Health (BMOH) of Panshkura-1 Block Health Centre, Panshkura.

• Soumen's wife clarified that her daughter-in-law had gone to the hospital with Bodhisattva on the day of the tragic incident.

The report was last updated on 13 August.

(Source: Anandabazar Patrika/Screenshot)

Conclusion: It is clear that a picture of an intern is being shared on the internet with users misidentifying him as TMC leader Soumen Mahapatra's son.

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