More than two weeks after the body of 26-year-old Ankit Sharma, an Intelligence Bureau personnel, was found during the Northeast Delhi violence, a postmortem report dismisses claims that Sharma was “stabbed over 400 times”.

His body was found in a drain in northeast Delhi’s Chand Bagh area on 26 February.

The claim, initially reported by right-wing websites, was further amplified by ministers in Parliament, social media influencers, and even found a mention in an official letter from the Prasar Bharati CEO to the BBC. While Ankit Sharma sustained severe fatal injuries in the attack during the communal violence that gripped the national capital from 24 to 26 February, the severity was seemingly exaggerated for shock value.