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Fact Check: Man In Viral Video Is Not 'Siddhar Yogi' But A Patient Of Chronic Skin Disease
24 Feb 2020 10:56 AM GMT | Updated 22 May 2020 5:18 AM GMT
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By : Aditi Chattopadhyay
Aditi, part of the fact checking team of The Logical Indian likes to read, write, cook and laugh, in short live life as it is supposed to be. What makes her fascinated is to discover the truth behind a story and more often than not, it is either fact or myth at the end.
The footage actually shows a man with a chronic skin disease receiving treatment at a hospital in Kazakhstan
A graphic video of a man with a distinct skin condition is going viral with a bizarre claim that the man is actually a yogi who started meditating 300 years ago and has recently been found while a digging venture in Valliyur, Tamilnadu.
The gaunt man can be seen covered in mud, blood and several sores with pus oozing out, laying on a hospital bed. Conversation in a foreign language can be heard in the video. While the language could not be ascertained, the man can be clearly heard saying 'Alexander' in reply to his name.
It is safe to assume that he was stating his name.
The caption of the viral post states: "It is a great privilege to witness the present life of Siddhar (Yogi) who went into Jeeva Samadhi 300 years ago in Valliyur in Tamilnadu. He was found alive while digging the mud to renovate the Valliyoor temple. Siddhar is seen sitting in Yogasana. Om Namah Shivaaya."
It is a great privilege to witness the present life of Siddhar (Yogi) who went into Jeeva Samadhi 300 years ago in Valliyur in Tamilnadu. He was found alive while digging the mud to renovate the Valliyoor temple. pic.twitter.com/iMGbW9L0s6
— Sridhar (@Sridhar80565746) February 19, 2020
Our readers also reached out to us asking us to verify this claim.
Claim:
A Siddhar Yogi who went into Jeeva Samadhi (meditative state) 300 years ago found alive while digging up in Valliyur, Tamilnadu.
Fact Check:
The claim is false
An unrelated video of a Kazakistan citizen with skin disease shared as that of Siddhar Yogi.
The video is from Kazakistan and the man is suffering from a chronic skin disease, psoriasis. The video was earlier reported by various foreign media outlets such as the Daily Mail UK with the headline "Russian man 'looking like a mummy' is rescued after spending a MONTH inside a bear den after the predator broke his spine and saved him for a future meal".
The claim was busted by independent news agency AFP (Agence France-Presse) and news media outlet The Independent.
According to AFP, many misleading articles with the 'Bear Cave' story sourced their claims to an article in The Siberian Times titled Man lives after bear breaks his spine and keeps him as the food inside den' by Russian English language publication. The article was published on June 26, 2019.
However, a second report was published by the Eurasia Daily in which it said the claims about the bear cave were not accurate.
According to Eurasia Daily, it had received the video from a "well-known businessman in Tuva", who confirmed: "he received the information from his hunter friends who knew eyewitnesses present at the incident," the agency wrote in its June 27 article.
"The story seemed plausible given Tuva newspapers had recently published a story on a local resident -- Nikolay Irgit -- who was attacked and killed by a bear," it added.
On June 24, 2019, Zello Poisk, a group dedicated to finding missing people in the city of Aktobe in Kazakhstan, posted a message on its Instagram account first seeking help to locate the man in the video, and then updating followers with the results.
The caption of the post reads, "Kazakh is heard in the background, and the language indicates it happened in Kazakhstan."
"We have found that the man in this video is from our city. He is being treated in one of our city's hospitals, and his health is improving. He came to us 15 days ago, and we treated him. When his condition improved, we discharged him," Rustem Isayev, director of the Aktobe Medical Centre, in the northwestern city of Aktobe in Kazakhstan, was quoted by AFP as saying.
"He is a citizen of Kazakhstan and a resident of Aktobe," Isayev added.
According to Isayev, a surgeon on his team filmed Alexander and sent the footage to his friends, who then circulated it online.
Given the evidence, we can ascertain that the video does not show Siddhar Yogi, claiming to be found alive after 300 years of meditation.
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: No, Gold Deposits Of 3,000 Tonne Not Discovered In Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra
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