A picture showing a statue of Ganesha dressed as a policeman is doing the rounds on social media. In the picture, three policemen can be seen posing for a photo with an idol of Ganesha dressed in police uniform. Many users have shared the image claiming that it is from Uttar Pradesh.
A Facebook user posted the viral post with a caption:
യുപിയിലെ പുതിയ IPS ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥൻ ശ്രീ ഗണപതി ജീക്കു അഭിവാദ്യങ്ങൾ 😄😄😄
(English translation: Greetings to UP’s new IPS officer Sri Ganapathi ji 😄😄😄)
You can check the post here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the viral post, and found it to be false.
Running a Reverse Image Search of the viral picture, the NM team traced a Gujarati news article, titled: સુરતમાં ગણપતિના કપડાંને લઈને વિવાદ, બેધારી નીતિ અપનાવતા રોષ (English translation: Controversy over Ganapati’s clothes in Surat, outrage over adoption of double-edged policy) published in News18 Gujarati, dated September 20, 2023. The image in the article matches with the viral picture informing that it was clicked in Surat, Gujarat.
The article further informs that the statue was installed by policemen in front of the Vadodara Police Station in Gujarat on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. Another YouTube video on the official channel of India Live Gujarati News shows the same Ganpati idol in a police uniform.
The video confirms that the idol was indeed unveiled in Surat, Gujarat, and not in Uttar Pradesh. Therefore, we can conclusively say that the viral video, claiming a statue of Ganesha dressed as a policeman was unveiled in Uttar Pradesh, is false.
If you want to fact-check any story, WhatsApp it now on +91 11 7127 9799
Click here for Latest News updates and viral videos on our AI-powered smart news