An image of a video purportedly showing former Western Command chief Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar (Retd) expressing concerns over India’s military preparedness and alleging a Chinese incursion into Arunachal Pradesh is circulating on social media. Users sharing the video claim that Katiyar said Chinese forces had advanced 25 km into the Indian territory and that Indian forces were unable to control the situation.
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NM VERIFIED
NewsMobile verified the claim and found that it is a deepfake.
To verify the viral claim, we at NewsMobile (NM) initiated our investigation by conducting a reverse image search and found the original video uploaded by ANI on March 30, 2026. The footage, which carries ANI’s watermark, shows Lt Gen Katiyar speaking ahead of his retirement.
#WATCH | Panchkula, Haryana: General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command, Lieutenant General Manoj Kumar Katiyar says, “I am speaking to you on the eve of my retirement—after forty years of service in the Indian Army, I am retiring… It has been a matter of great honour for me throughout my entire career to have had the opportunity to serve in the Indian Army… During Operation Sindoor last year, we successfully thwarted Pakistan’s nefarious objectives and achieved success… Beyond regular training, we are undertaking large-scale procurement of new equipment—including drones and counter-drone systems. Wherever necessary, we are manufacturing these items in-house within our own workshops. Concurrently, a key focus within the Western Command has been on enhancing the living conditions, medical facilities, and educational amenities available to personnel across all ranks. Additionally, we have devoted our full attention to the welfare of our veterans, and ex-servicemen… I would also like to highlight the exemplary work performed by the Western Command—both during Operation Sindoor and during the massive flood disaster that struck last year, wherein we played a pivotal role in ‘Operation Rahat’. On all these occasions, we received support from the local populations as well as the civil administrations, the CAPF, and the BSF across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Jammu, and Delhi…”
— ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2026
In the original video, Katiyar discusses the successful thwarting of Pakistan’s objectives during Operation Sindoor, the procurement of new military equipment, including drones and counter-drone systems, and initiatives undertaken by the Western Command for the welfare of its personnel. He also highlights the Command’s role during Operation Rahat amid the floods that affected the region the previous year.
However, the original footage contains no remarks about China advancing 25 km into Arunachal Pradesh or concerns over alleged Indian aircraft losses.
We further examined the viral video and observed visible irregularities around Katiyar’s lips, along with differences in his voice and speech delivery compared to the original footage.
Hive Moderation indicated a high probability of AI-generated or manipulated content, with the audio identified as deepfake/AI-generated.
Hence, it is evident that the viral video falsely attributes remarks about a Chinese incursion in Arunachal Pradesh to former Western Command chief Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar (Retd). The clip is manipulated using AI-generated audio and is being circulated with a false claim.
