By BOOM FACT Check Team
An old image of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann lying on a hospital bed has surfaced with netizens falsely linking it to Mann's recent hospitalisation.
According to reports, the Aam Aadmi Party leader was taken ill after he complained of severe stomach ache at his official residence in Chandigarh earlier this week. He was later airlifted and admitted to the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in Delhi on the intervening night of July 20 and 21.
The Tribune later reported that Mann was discharged from the hospital on July 21, after a daylong admission.
While the Chief Minister's office did not confirm his recent hospitalisation , sources close to Mann indicated to the Indian Express that the ailment was related to drinking water directly from the rivulet Kali Bein on the occasion of its 22nd cleaning anniversary.
The image is being shared with the caption, "CM Punjab Bhagwant Mann's health deteriorated.. admitted to Apollo Hospital in Delhi.. Condition worsened due to stomach infection". (Original text in Hindi: सीएम पंजाब भगवंत मान की तबीयत बिगड़ी..दिल्ली अपोलो अस्पताल में भर्ती... पेट में सक्रमण के कारण हालत ख़राब...)
Fact Check
BOOM ran a reverse image search on the photograph and was directed to an India Today news report from August, 2018. India Today quoted a source as saying that Mann was hospitalised in Delhi for the treatment of a 'kidney-related' ailment during the same time. The report further stated that the AAP leader was in the hospital since five days of admission and was under diagnosis.
PTC news reported on August 1, 2018 that Mann was admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi. The report, which carried the same viral image, stated, "Aam Aadmi Party leader and MP Bhagwant Mann has been hospitlalised due to some ailment of stomach. He has been admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi. As per sources, he has complaint of stones in the kidney following which he has been admitted to the hospital."
The same image was tweeted by journalist Man Aman Singh Chhina on August 1, 2018.
BOOM however could not independently verify the image. The photograph has been on the internet since 2018, thus establishing that it is not related to his recent hospitalisation.
