The image tweeted by Mahesh Hegde has received around 700 retweets and more than 1,600 likes.

New Delhi: Booked for peddling fake news earlier this year, Postcard News founder and editor Mahesh Hegde was at it again this week, having allegedly tweeted a year-old image of Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik’s arrest as a fresh one.

The post sought to claim a fresh crackdown on separatists in the wake of the BJP’s split from the PDP this week over allegations that the Mehbooba Mufti government had adopted a “soft approach” towards separatists despite a rise in violence in the state.

Hegde’s tweet, posted Thursday, received more than 700 retweets and 1,600 likes.

Pic of the year 2018 Separatist traitor Yasin Malik detained by J&K police Those who don't understand why BJP dumped the alliance with PDP, Just look at the FEAR in his eyes once pic.twitter.com/bJYusCGYhj — Mahesh Vikram Hegde (@mvmeet) June 21, 2018

The image was also used by south Indian news portal Asianet News as the lead photo for their story on his arrest. The headline of the story said, “Yasin Malik, who took part in a Naam Tamilar Party rally, arrested in J & K”. The Naam Tamilar Party is a Tamil nationalist outfit, and Malik’s attendance at the rally dates back at least five years, to 2013.

While it is true that Malik was detained on 21 June, the image in question is from 21 July 2017, when the separatist was arrested while leading a protest outside the UN office in Srinagar.

This is the original video of his arrest, filmed by a local news portal.

By the time this report was filed Sunday evening, Hegde had not deleted his tweet and neither had Asianet changed the image.

Hegde is currently out on bail after he was booked this March for a tweet – posted by him as well as the Postcard News handle – alleging a Jain monk had been attacked by Muslim youth when the former had, in fact, sustained injuries in an accident.

This report is in collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer.

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