An image of a Trishul in the sky made by the Indian Air Force jets was allegedly captured during the air show at Prayagraj on the last day of the Maha Kumbh Mela, i.e. February 26.
The airshow was conducted at the conclusion of the 45-day-long Maha Kumbha Mela.
An X user, retired Major General Harsha Kakar, shared the image with the caption, “Pic of the Year !!! Mahadev’s TRISHUL formation by 3 Sukhoi 30 MKI aircraft!!! Salute to #IndianAirforce.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral image has been on the Internet since 2019. No such Trishul formation was done during the Air Force air show at the Maha Kumbh.
On a Google reverse image search, we found it posted on X and Facebook accounts in 2019 and 2020. We also found it in a Zee News report in 2023.
An X user shared the image on January 31, 2020, with a caption that reads, “Pic of the Year !!! Mahadev’s TRISHUL formation by 3 Sukhoi 30 MKI aircrafts !!! Salute to #IndianAirforce. (sic)”
Another X user shared the image on January 26, 2020.
Upon closer examination, we found that the viral image is likely a cropped version of the original one shared by KOEL. Similar digitally created posters can also be found on KOEL’s Facebook page. Even without knowing the exact source of the image, the information so far showed that the photo had been shared since 2019.
