Viral video of Indian air marshal saying Pakistani drones reached Delhi, Gujarat in May 2025 conflict is doctored

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted an audio forensic analysis to assess the authenticity of the video and a reverse image search to identify the original source.

Posts from multiple users, including PML-N supporters, on social media platform X since September 24, 2025, shared a video, alleging that it showed Indian Air Marshal Rakesh Sinha admitting Pakistani drones reached Delhi and Gujarat during the May 2025 conflict between the two countries. However, the video is doctored.

Pakistan and India were locked in a four-day conflict earlier this year. On the night of May 6–7, the Pakistan Air Force shot down Indian fighter jets in retaliation for late-night missile strikes carried out by the neighbour.

The strikes targeted six sites inside Pakistan, including Subhan Mosque in Bahawalpur’s Ahmedpur East, Bilal Mosque in Muzaffarabad, Abbas Mosque in Kotli, Umalkura Mosque in Muridke, the village of Kotki Lohara in Sialkot district, and Shakargarh.

Three Rafales, one Su-30MKI, one Mirage 2000 and one MiG-29 were downed within 40 minutes. Not one Pakistani jet crossed the border or engaged in close combat.

HOW IT STARTED

On Sept 24, an X account, that appears to be anti-Indian based upon its previous posts, shared a video with the caption: “Indian Air Marshal Rakesh Sinha admitted that Pakistani drones reached Delhi and Gujarat, and that S-400 systems were destroyed because of their surveillance.”

The transcription of the video is provided below:

“Okay, we are conducting Exercise Cold Start, which will be conducted in the first week of October in central sectors. Since Pakistani drones infiltrated Delhi and Gujarat last time, PM Modi told us that there should be no more infiltration from Pakistani drones. We have already lost two S-400 systems because of them. We will make sure Pakistani drones don’t beat us again.”

The post gained 200,000 views.

Senator Mushahid Hussain also shared the same video with a similar claim on X on Sept 25, with the following caption: “Finally, a confession of truth from Indian military high command about India’s losses to Pakistan in May 2025: 2 S-400 missile systems destroyed plus Pakistan’s drones infiltrated Delhi & Gujarat!”

The post gained 73,800 views.

The video with a similar claim was shared by another user who appeared to be a PML-N supporter based on his past posts. The caption of the post said: “I had reported on the morning of May 10 that Pakistani drones had reached Delhi, but my tweet was deleted. Today, an Indian Army officer is admitting this. My news has been confirmed.”

The post gained 72,500 views.

Other PML-N supporters shared the video as well, as can be seen here, here, here, here, here and here and by pro-military accounts too, as can be seen, here, here, here and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in the military conflict between India and Pakistan.

Observing the video revealed inconsistencies, including audio and lip-sync mismatches, as well as sporadic and unusual eye blinking.

Running the audio of the video through forensic tool DeepFake-Total flagged potential manipulation from the 11.3-second mark.

A reverse image search yielded a video published on the X account of Indian news outlet Press Trust of India (PTI) on September 23, 2025.

It featured the same clip of Indian Air Marshal Rakesh Sinha.

The transcription of the video is provided below:

“We are conducting Exercise Cold Start, which will be conducted in the first week of October in central sector, where we are going to test drones and the counter-drone systems. Participating in all three services, industry partners, R&D partners, academia, everyone will be there.”

As can be seen in the transcription, he does not mention Pakistani drones infiltrating Delhi and Gujarat as stated in the viral claim.

The doctored part begins at the 9-second mark of the viral clip.

Alongside PTI, international wire news agency Reuters and leading Indian media outlet The Print also reported the interaction of the Indian air marshal, but neither mentioned any of the statements in the video circulating online.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video shows Indian Air Marshal Rakesh Sinha saying Pakistani drones reached Delhi and Gujarat during the conflict between the neighbouring countries in May is false.

The video is doctored.