‘Deserve some serious punishment’: Sole survivor of Air India crash accused of faking the miracle — is it true?

On June 12, 2025, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh walked away from the Air India Flight AI171 crash in Ahmedabad. The British national of Indian origin has recounted his miraculous escape a number of times — how he “jumped out” through the emergency exit after the crash, how he “stood up and ran” after witnessing the bodies around him. The police confirmed the narrative, and yet, his being the only survivor of the 242 people on board who perished still seems impossible.

Finding it hard to believe his extraordinary tale of survival is one thing, but going out of your way to spread fake news to support conspiracy theories about the man, especially when he is injured and living with the loss of his brother, who did not survive the crash? That is despicable. And yet, the doctored videos stressing the same are currently doing the rounds on social media.

But that’s the norm, right? That’s disappointingly how social media works in this era. So, it is on us, the so-called responsible individuals of this decade, to do our homework or at least hold our horses till we have solid proof before we put sympathy and empathy on the sidelines to get a piece of the attention. Sadly, actor and singer Suchitra Krishnamoorthi paid zero heed to the facts and jumped on the new disgusting trend of spreading the fake news that Ramesh faked his survival — he was allegedly never on the plane and pretended to walk away from the wreckage while faking his injuries.

In a now-deleted post, she claimed that Ramesh was “lying” and proceeded to defame him without bothering to fact-check.

“So this #vishwaskumarramesh lied about being a passenger on the plane & the only survivor? This is seriously weird. Didn’t his family in the UK corroborate his story? What about his brother’s funeral that he was seen giving kandha to? Deserve not only some serious punishment but some mental asylum time if this is true uff.”

But though we live in a time when even tragedies are not exempt from this heartless practice, not everyone is like Krishnamoorthi, who mindlessly furthers a toxic and damaging narrative. The backlash against her post was severe, forcing the actress to rethink her stance, delete her post, and offer an apology instead.

Too little, too late. The residents of social media are in no hurry to forgive her for not just jumping to conclusions but brazenly accusing a man whose family just cremated a son.

Krishnamoorthi might have backtracked her claims, but there are many — way too many — still out there, peddling this damaging conspiracy theory at a time the community should extend sympathy and support to those who lost their lives and loved ones in the crash. Is it too much to ask?