President Murmu poses with IAF pilot Shivangi Singh, shatters fake ‘captured’ during Operation Sindoor claim
Singh, standing tall next to the President with the Rafale in the background, became a powerful symbol of India’s military strength and the collapse of Pakistan’s propaganda.
Pakistani media outlets had claimed that Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh had been captured after her Rafale fighter jet was allegedly shot down during Operation Sindoor. Some reports also called her a prisoner of war. However, those rumours were laid to rest on Wednesday morning, when Squadron Leader Singh, hailing from Varanasi, was seen standing confidently beside President Droupadi Murmu at the Ambala Air Force Base in Haryana. The pilot, all smiles and dressed in her flight overalls, personally briefed the President on the Rafale multi-role fighter jet, effectively dismantling Pakistan’s false narrative.
Singh, standing tall next to the President with the Rafale in the background, became a powerful symbol of India’s military strength and the collapse of Pakistan’s propaganda.
The misinformation campaign began in May, soon after India launched Operation Sindoor, a retaliatory military strike following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives. The attack was carried out by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, prompting a strong Indian response.
In the aftermath, Pakistan’s propaganda machinery falsely claimed multiple “military victories,” including shooting down six Indian Air Force aircraft, among them a Rafale jet. These claims were completely baseless, as the Indian government and military released detailed evidence confirming that no Indian aircraft were lost — in fact, Pakistan lost six of its own, including four US-made F-16s, Chinese JF-17s, and a large AEW&C surveillance plane.
Propaganda Alert!
Beware of old images shared by pro-Pakistan handles in the present context!
An #old image showing a crashed aircraft is being circulated with the claim that Pakistan recently shot down an Indian Rafale jet near Bahawalpur during the ongoing #OperationSindoor… pic.twitter.com/LdkJ1JYuH0
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 7, 2025
One of Pakistan’s most circulated falsehoods was that Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh had been captured. Several social media accounts even shared fabricated videos showing the Air Chief Marshal visiting her “grief-stricken family”.