Vegetarian Indian guru's firm rejects hoax about selling beef biryani spice

This article is more than one year old.
Published on September 28, 2022 at 11:07
2 min read
By AFP India

A picture appearing to show beef biryani recipe mix sold by vegetarian Indian guru Baba Ramdev's company is circulating online, prompting criticism from social media users in the Hindu-majority country where many regard cows as sacred. However, the image was doctored to add the logo of Ramdev's firm Patanjali, which said it did not own or sell any such product.

"Ramdev is selling beef biryani spice," reads a Hindi-language tweet posted on September 20.

The image shows a packet of beef biryani recipe mix with a red logo reading "Ramdev" and the name of one of India's best-known brands Patanjali.

The multi-million dollar company was co-founded by Ramdev, a maverick Hindu "holy man" and TV yoga star who is a strict vegetarian.

Screengrab of the post with the altered image, taken on September 27, 2022

The image prompted criticism towards Ramdev after it was shared in various posts on Facebook and Twitter.

Hindus, who make up India's religious majority, consider cows sacred and their slaughter is banned across much of the country.

"Ramdev will do anything for money," one comment read.

"Business over religion," another wrote.

However, the image is a hoax.

Doctored image

A reverse image search found the original photo on the website of Pakistani brand National Foods.

It shows the recipe mix packet without "Patanjali" or "Ramdev" printed on it.

Screenshot comparison of the doctored image (L) and the original photo of the product (R)

There is no mention of beef biryani on the website of Patanjali foods.

A spokesperson for Patanjali told AFP that the company did not "own nor sell any such products in the market".

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Vegetarian Indian guru's firm rejects hoax about selling beef biryani spice

Doctored image

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