CLAIM

Sample these:

Today 14th feb celebrated as Valentine ❤ day. We are celebrating this day with full excitement but the thing to kno… https://t.co/z4TDEhdHTL — Yogesh Gola (@Yogip9879) 1550121244000

TRUTH

VERIFICATION AND METHODOLOGY

VERDICT

Every year around February 14, the day celebrated across the world as the Valentine's Day, messages claiming that revolutionary freedom fighters Bhagat Singh Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged on this date in the year 1931 are circulated heavily. If the messages, that come along with graphic tiles carrying the images of these three revered freedom fighters, do not claim they were hanged on February 14, claim would be that the order of execution was issued on February 14, 1931.These messages are widely circulated on social media platforms and especially on WhatsApp with a plea to observe this day as "Black Day" rather than as Valentine's Day.A news report published in The Hindu on February 16, 2011 titled "Bhagat Singh page ‘vandalised' on Wikipedia" said, "The Wikipedia page on Bhagat Singh underwent many editing changes on February 13 and 14, Valentine's Day, and a Wikipedia administrator called it online “vandalism"."The report said the Wikipedia page on Bhagat Singh was changed more than 30 times and quoted a Wikipedia 'administrator' Philp Tinu Cherian as saying, "People kept on changing and reverting the date between February 14, 1931 and March 23 as the day Bhagat Singh's hanging," and "I wonder if it is a conspiracy to divert attention from Valentine's Day.”Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged to death on March 23, 1931 and not on February 14 that year. The three revolutionary freedom fighters were sentenced on October 7, 1930 and not on February 14 as claimed in these messages. March 23 is observed as Martyrs' Day in India as a tribute to these three valiant freedom fighters.We found a news report published on TOI titled "Bhagat Singh’s execution warrant letter goes viral," published in 2015 that carried the image of the warrant issued to order Singh's execution that had gone viral on social media.The warrant titled "Warrant of execution on sentence of death," said that it was issued on October 7. The warrant directed the superintendent responsible for Singh's execution to get back to the court with an endorsement certifying that the sentence was executed on October 27. The execution, however, was implemented on March 23, 1931.Times Fact Check also found another image which is apparently the endorsement produced by the superintendent who implemented Singh's execution.These documents were put on display by Lahore's Punjab Archives Department last year.Using Google search, we found ShahidBhagatSingh.org , we website that has archived Singh's letters, images and statements. It hosts a letter Singh wrote to the then Punjab Governor in which he demands Sukhdev, Rajguru and himself to be shot dead instead of being hanged. Singh begins the letter saying, "That we were sentenced to death on 7th October 1930 by a British Court, L.C.C Tribunal..." and this proves the leaders were indeed sentenced to death by hanging on October 7 and not on February 14.The death certificate produced by the superintendent mentions that Singh was hanged on March 23, 1931.Times Fact Check has found that the claims that Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged on February 14 and that the order to hang them was issued on February 14 are completely baseless.