Social media posts falsely claimed Lt. Kiran Shekhawat martyred during recent India-Pakistan military conflict; details inside

PTI, New Delhi, May 12, 2025 (Vaidehi Jahagirdar / Pratyush Ranjan, PTI Fact Check): : Amid the ongoing India-Pakistan military tensions, a purported image of a woman was recently shared on social media with the claim that she was an Indian security forces officer who lost her life while fighting against Pakistan during 'Operation Sindoor'. The user claimed the image depicted Lt. Kiran Shekhawat, a 27-year-old Indian officer who laid down her life for the country.

However, in its investigation, the PTI Fact Check Desk found that while Lt. Kiran Shekhawat did indeed sacrifice her life for the nation, her death was not connected to the current India-Pakistan military tensions. Lt. Shekhawat lost her life in a 2015 naval aircraft crash off the coast of Goa. An old image was falsely shared on social media with a misleading claim.

Claim

An X user '@SureshK15152577' shared on May 10 an image purportedly depicting an Indian woman officer, Kiran Shekhawat, who died in the line of duty while fighting against Pakistan in the current India-Pak military conflict.

The user stated, "Heartfelt tributes to 27-year-old Kiran Shekhawat who sacrificed her life for the country."

Here is the link and archive link to the post, along with a screenshot:

Investigation

The Desk ran the social media image through Google Lens and found multiple users who had shared the same photo with a similar claim. Two such posts can be found here and here, with their archived versions available here and here, respectively:

In the next part of the investigation, taking cues from the information mentioned in the social media post regarding Kiran Shekhawat, the Desk conducted a customised keyword search on Google. The search results led the Desk to a report published by NDTV, which confirmed that Lt. Kiran Shekhawat was the country's first woman officer who attained martyrdom in the line of duty.

However, as the Desk delved further into the report, it found that Lt. Kiran Shekhawat, along with Lieutenant Abhinav Nagori, attained martyrdom back in March 2015 after the Dornier-228 maritime surveillance aircraft they were aboard crashed into the Arabian Sea near Goa. The incident is not connected in any way to the recent military conflict that has escalated between India and Pakistan.

Here is the link to the report, along with a screenshot.

Additionally, during the investigation, the Desk also came across a social media video purportedly claiming to depict the final moments of Lt. Kiran Shekhawat as she laid down her life for the country. The footage allegedly showed Lt. Shekhawat lying on the ground with serious injuries, while another teammate tried to rescue her.

Here is the link and archive link to one such post, along with a screenshot:

Although the investigation had already established that Lt. Kiran Shekhawat died in March 2015 and her death was unrelated to the ongoing India-Pakistan tensions, the Desk further tried to analyse the origin of the video. The result revealed that the video was probably a part of a shoot. For instance, at the 0:10 second timestamp, a camera was seen capturing the frames,  thus clearly indicating that the footage depicted in the video was part of a staged shoot rather than a real situation.

Subsequently, the Desk concluded that the image and video circulated on social media in the name of Lt. Kiran Shekhawat were falsely linked to the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict. Lt Shekhawat lost her life in a 2015 naval aircraft crash unrelated to the present incident.

CLAIM

The image shows Lt. Kiran Shekhawat, who lost her life during the ongoing India-Pakistan military conflict.

FACT

Lt. Kiran Shekhawat was indeed a 27-year-old Indian Navy officer who laid down her life in the line of duty. However, she died in March 2015 in a Dornier aircraft crash off the coast of Goa, not in the current India-Pakistan conflict.

CONCLUSION

The claim linking Lt. Kiran Shekhawat’s death to the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict is false. She died in March 2015 in a Dornier aircraft crash off the coast of Goa, not in the current India-Pakistan conflict. Also, she was the country's first woman officer who attained martyrdom in the line of duty.