A black and white photograph of a man and a woman is being circulated on social media with the claim that it is an old, original photograph of Sai Baba grinding wheat beside a woman. The text with the photo claims that it is a rare picture of the saint and his devotee.
The Logical Indian received a request to verify the claim.
Claim:
Black and white photo is a real picture of Sai Baba with his devotee.
Fact Check:
The claim is false. The image was cropped out and a reverse image search was done. This led to a larger version of the viral photo.
A reverse search of this photo led to a blog post on rgyan.com.
Based on the information in the blog a keyword search was done which led to the original version of the photograph which is actually a coloured painting by artist Sunil Shegaonkar.
According to his Twitter bio, he makes paintings in a realistic style and has made "100 paintings on Sri Sai Charitra on big canvases."
Below is a comparison of the viral photo (left) and the original painting (real):
Below are some of his other paintings:
Therefore, a black and white version of a realistic painting is being circulated with a false claim.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
Also Read: Fact Check: Incident Of Honor Killing Falsely Shared As 'Love Jihad' Case