Fact Check: Lieutenant Kiran Shekhawat Passed Away In 2015; Viral Post Falsely Links Her Death To Recent India-Pakistan Tensions

New Delhi (Vishvas News):  Amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, a viral post is misleadingly claiming that Lieutenant Kiran Shekhawat, a woman officer, was recently martyred.

Several users are sharing the post, assuming that it is linked to the current conflict. However, a fact-check by Vishvas News revealed that the claim is misleading. Lieutenant Kiran Shekhawat lost her life in a naval aircraft crash in March 2015.

What is going viral?

Facebook user ‘News Mission‘ posted Lieutenant Shekhawat’s picture on May 12, 2025, and claimed, “Martyr woman officer Kiran Shekhawat attained martyrdom at the age of only 27.”

See the archive version of the post here.

Investigation

Vishvas News began its investigation by using Google Lens to trace the origin of the image featured in the post. The image was found in an Instagram post dated May 1, 2020, which clearly stated that Lieutenant Shekhawat lost her life in a plane crash off the Goa coast in March 2015 during a training mission.

Further keyword searches on Google led to multiple credible news reports from 2015 confirming the same. A report dated March 29, 2015, stated that Lieutenant Kiran Shekhawat’s plane crashed during a training flight off the Goa coast, and her body was recovered a few days later.

An old article on Patrika.com provided additional background: “Kiran was born on May 1, 1988, in Sefragunwar village, Jhunjhunu district, Rajasthan. She was married to Lieutenant Vivek Singh Chonkar from Kurthala village in Haryana’s Mewat district. With strong familial ties to the armed forces, Kiran joined the Navy in 2010 and tragically died just two years after her marriage.”

Indian Navy spokesperson Captain Vivek Madhwal told Vishvas News, “Lieutenant Kiran Shekhawat was martyred in a plane crash in March 2015. The information given in the viral post is old.”

Vishvas News spoke to Lieutenant Kiran Shekhawat’s father, Vijendra Singh Shekhawat. He confirmed, “Kiran passed away in March 2015. It’s unfortunate that some people are reviving this to spread misinformation.” 

Lastly, we investigated the Facebook profile of the user who posted the misleading post and found that the user has over 80 thousand followers, and this page is operated from Kullu, Himachal Pradesh.

Conclusion: Vishvas News’ investigation revealed that the viral post is misleading. Lieutenant Kiran Shekhawat died in a plane crash in 2015. The resurfacing of her story amid current tensions appears to be an attempt to stir emotions and create confusion during a sensitive time.

Tags

• India Pakistan Tension
• Lieutenant Kiran Shekhawat
• Pahalgam attack
• Pahalgam Attack Aftermaths