An image of former principal of RG Kar Medical College Sandip Ghosh is being shared to claim that it shows him sitting next to Sanjay Roy, who is the main accused in the rape and murder case of the young female doctor.
What have users said?: Those sharing the image have uploaded it with a caption that said, "Kolkata horror accused celebrated his birthday in Ex Principal Sandip Ghosh office."
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)
Media organisation Republic World, too, shared the image with a similar claim on their website.
You can view an archive of the article here.
(Source: Republic World/Screenshot)
(Archives of similar claims can be viewed here, here, and here.)
What are the facts?: The man seen cutting a cake in the viral image was identified as Prasun Chatterjee and not Sanjay Roy.
Chatterjee was a data operator at the Calcutta National Medical & Hospital and a part-time personal assistant for Ghosh.
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What led us to the truth?: Using the help of a Google Lens search, we were able to find a post shared on the official X handle of Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Riju Dutta.
The post, which was published on 30 August, carried the viral image. It said that the person next to Ghosh was not Roy.
Dutta identified the person as one Prasun Chatterjee, who worked as Ghosh's part-time personal assistant and a data entry operator in Calcutta National Medical & Hospital.
Next, a combination of keyword searches on Google directed us to a post published on an Instagram handle named 'CNMCRDA'.
It also carried the viral image and identified the person seen next to Ghosh as Prasun Chatterjee.
The post further demanded the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate Chatterjee's whereabouts on 9 August
News reports: A report published in the Times of India said that a fake forward is being circulated with a fake claim that it shows Ghosh celebrating their birthday with the main accused, Roy.
It said that the photo showed the personal data operator of Ghosh.
The report was published on 30 August.
(Source: TOI/Screenshot)
Conclusion: The viral photo does not show the main accused, Roy, cutting a cake next to the former principal of RG Kar Medical College, Sandip Ghosh.
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