India TV Fact Check: Amid the widespread outrage over the horrific rape and murder incident at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College, claims have surfaced that renowned Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has donated Rs 50 crore to the victim's mother. However, when India TV fact-checked this claim, it was found to be completely false.
It is pertinent to mention that a postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered while on duty at the hospital on August 9. Later, the semi-naked body of the 32-year-old woman was found in the seminar hall of the government-run hospital in Kolkata. A civic volunteer was arrested in connection with the crime the next day. Following this, the Calcutta High Court ordered the transfer of the probe into the case from the Kolkata Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
What is going viral?
A post with a photo of Virat Kohli has been shared on an account named Dr Jawahar Lal Singh on the social media platform X. The text on the photo reads, “Love the one who helps in bad times. Virat Kohli donated Rs 50 crore to the Kolkata rape (victim) for the happiness of her mother.”
"When the rest of the world describing the heart-wrenching take of the Kolkata PG trainee doctor's parents, "the Virat of World cricket", stretched his hands with 'kityful' of Rs 5 crores to the, for their cozy life. After months, when tears dry, the sun of money will help them smile," an X user captioned the post.
India TV did investigation
India TV's fact-checking team investigated the viral claim that cricketer Virat Kohli had donated Rs 50 crore to the mother of the victim in the Kolkata rape-murder case. The team conducted a thorough search using related keywords on Google but found no credible information linking Kohli to this case. Additionally, the team checked Virat Kohli's social media accounts, including X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, but found no posts or statements indicating that he had made such a donation.
The team concluded that if Kohli had indeed made such a significant donation, it would have been widely covered by the media, and Kohli himself would likely have shared this on his social media platforms. However, no such information was found, leading to the conclusion that the viral post was false.
However, on further search, we found another viral video of Kohli in which he is condemning the violence against women following the Kolkata doctor rape and murder case. However, it was found that the video is dated January 06, 2017, where Kohli had reacted to a horrific incident in Bengaluru where several women were molested by a mob of men publicly on a road during New Year’s Eve celebrations.
What came out in the Fact Check?
India TV's fact-check team has found that the viral social media post claiming that cricketer Virat Kohli donated Rs 50 crore to the mother of the victim in the Kolkata rape-murder case is false. Virat Kohli has neither made such a donation nor any related claim. The post circulating on social media is entirely fake.
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