On Monday, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) debunked the claims made by the Hindustan Times (HT) surrounding the death of Havaldar Bishan Singh. In a report titled, “Galwan clash soldier succumbs to injuries; cremated in his home district Nainital” published on August 16, HT claimed that the 42-year-old jawan who braved the Chinese forces in the Galwan Valley clash had succumbed to the injuries, caused during the confrontation, on Friday.
He was undergoing treatment at the military hospital in Leh before being shifted to another military hospital in Chandigarh on August 6. Reportedly, Singh who hailed from Bangapani in Pithoragarh was cremated with full military honours at Ranibag crematorium near Haldwani in Nainital on Sunday.
Fact check by PIB
Dismissing the claims made by the Hindustan Times, the Press Information Bureau had clarified that Havaldar Bishan Singh died due to medical complications and not the injuries sustained by the soldier during the Galwan Valley clash.
Claim: Media reports have claimed “an Army soldier from Galwan Valley Clash succumbs to injuries; cremated in his home district Nainital”#PIBFactcheck: This is incorrect. Late Havaldar Bishan Singh expired due to medical complications, not due to injuries sustained in the clash pic.twitter.com/cRfBmNKCYT
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) August 17, 2020
Hindustan Times: Repeat offenders
Earlier in May, the Hindustan Times had published a report titled, “Migrants’ kid dies as father hunts for milk at railway station.” The article had claimed that a four-and-a-half-year-old son of migrants from Bihar based in Delhi died of hunger at the railway station on arrival by a ‘Shramik Special’ train. As evident from the report by HT, the incident of the child’s death was portrayed as one due to hunger.
However, the Ministry of Railways took to Twitter to confirm that the child was previously suffering from an ailment and that he was travelling with his family from Delhi after getting treatment for the disease. It also added that the child passed away 5 hours after deboarding the train. It warned the journalist against sharing or posting unverified news.
