An old picture of a woman warding off security personnel with a laathi (wooden stick) in her hands is being shared in connection with the ongoing farmers protest that has rocked the national capital.
BOOM found that the picture has been on internet since 2016 and is not connected with the ongoing protests.
Also read No, This Is Not 'Hathras Bhabhi' At The Farmers' Protest
The farmers protest which gained momentum on November 26 entered its fifth day on Monday. Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have braved water cannons and tear-gas shells to reach the borders of Delhi to register their protest against the new farm laws. They have rejected the central government's offer to hold talks on December 3. In this backdrop, fake news and misinformation is flooding the social media.
The viral image shows a saree-clad old woman wielding a wooden stick at a group of uniformed security personnel. A Hindi caption with the viral image translates to 'You have seen the fake queen of Jhansi, now watch for yourself the real queen of Jhansi who has jumped into the battlefield in support of farmers. salutes to you, O mother'.
(Hindi: नकली झांसी की रानी को देख चुके तो अब देखो असली झांसी की रानी जो किसान हक के लिए कूद पड़ी है युद्ध के मैदान में...माँ तुझे सलाम...)
View the post below and check its archived version here.
The picture is viral on Twitter too.
Also read How A Muslim Man's Photo Was Used To Discredit The Farmers' Protest
Fact Check
BOOM did a reverse image search of the viral image using Bing and found two Facebook posts sharing the same image.
One of the posts from 2016 shared on Hyderabad Funny Club has no captions with it.
View archive here.
Another post shared on Facebook page Kerala Students Union on October 6, 2018 shared the viral picture with a Malayalam caption translating to 'It can only end in a single shot ... and still protest ...For a lot of sticky wires ...# Farmers' Struggle'.
(Malayalam: ഒറ്റ വെടിയുണ്ടയിൽ തീരാവുന്നതെയുള്ളൂ...എന്നിട്ടും പ്രതിഷേധിക്കുന്നു...ഒരുപാട് ഒട്ടിയ വയറുകൾക്കായി... #കർഷകസമരം)
View archive here.
However, BOOM was unable to independently find out the context behind the now-viral picture.
Also read No, This Video Does Not Show Farm Bill Protester Disguised As Sikh Man