An Indian tourist, Jimisha Avlani, was arrested in Illinois after allegedly shoplifting nearly $1,300 worth of items from a Target store. The arrest, captured on bodycam, sparked a visa warning from the US Embassy.
In the above context, a video is being shared on social media in which a man holds a woman who is taking out the clothes that she had hidden inside her dress.
The video is shared with a caption suggesting that it shows Jimisha Avlani stealing in the US.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “Ananya Alvani of Indian origin brought shame to India in America. She stuffed clothes worth more than one lakh rupees under her top. Ananya alias Jimisha had gone to America to meet her family members. When the employees saw her in the CCTV footage, they chased and caught her.” (Translated from Hindi)
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video is unrelated and from Mexico.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was uploaded on YouTube on May 2, with a Spanish caption which, when translated into English, reads, “Woman wearing pregnancy clothes in a commercial centre in Saltillo, Coahuila I Ciudad Desnuda.”
Moreover, in the viral video, we can see a woman standing in front of a store which is named Coppel. We found that Coppel is a departmental store chain in Mexico.
We also found that the same video was shared by another YouTube channel based in Mexico, Zocalo, on May 1. The video was shared with a caption that reads, “Woman pretends to be pregnant and is arrested for shoplifting at Plaza Patio.”
Using the hint, we searched with appropriate keywords and found that the same video was also shared by a Mexican news website on May 2.
The report stated that in Saltillo, Mexico, a woman was caught pretending to be pregnant to steal at least 10 pairs of jeans from a Coppel department store. She concealed the merchandise under a specially designed garment that simulated a pregnancy belly, a method known locally as ‘farderismo.’
The incident, recorded on video, went viral on social media, though it’s unclear if she faced formal charges.
We further found that the woman in viral video is wearing a different dress when compared to the Indian tourist. Moreover, the Indian tourist did not pretend to be pregnant as shared in the viral claim.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.
