Kharaj Mukherjee death rumor spreads amid Nepal floods
A video was recently circulated on Facebook with the claim that West Bengal actor Kharaj Mukherjee died in floods in Nepal. However, a Dismislab fact-check found the claim false. The actor was stranded after a flash flood in Nepal while he was shooting for a film. He did not die.
A 15-second video was posted from a Facebook profile with the caption, “Known actor Kharaj Mukherjee from across Bengal died due to severe partial flooding in Nepal.” (verbatim). The video uses a black and white photo of Kharaj Mukherjee.
In addition, several pages and profiles (1, 2, 3, 4) also claimed that actor Kharaj had gone missing.
A relevant keyword search found reports about the incident in several news outlets (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). A report published by West Bengal news outlet ABP Ananda on August 27 was titled, “Kharaj Mukherjee: Kharaj Mukherjee stranded in Nepal while shooting, what is his condition? He shared his horrific experience.” The report said the actor had become stranded in Pokhara, Nepal, while shooting for a Bengali film.
On August 26, the day of the floods, actor Kharaj told Anandabazar Patrika, “I came on August 20 to shoot a film from Bangladesh. I was supposed to return on the 26th. I have been stranded because of the rain. Terrible flooding. Flight tickets are not available either. The roads are not in a condition for travel. I will return to Kolkata on a flight from Gorakhpur on the 28th.”
In other words, the claim that West Bengal actor Kharaj Mukherjee died or went missing is false. Although he became stranded in Nepal amid the flooding while shooting, he is alive.
