Times of India has been accused of using image of a happy and very much alive couple, Amit and Shilpi Agarwal, for a story about a man who strangles his estranged wife and kills his mother in law before shooting himself. For a story titled “Man kills estranged wife in Bengaluru, mom-in-law in Kolkata, shoots self”, which appeared on the front page of the national daily, Times of India used image of a couple who run a food related Facebook page ‘Food And Flavors by Shilpi’. The image appeared on the front page of Kolkata edition.
Food vloggers Shilpi and and Amit Agarwal who live in California, took to Facebook earlier this morning when they were shocked to see their happy pictures as that of a couple who had died after the husband went on a killing spree before shooting himself.
In a video uploaded on Facebook, the vlogger said that TOI had used their photo for a story that was not related to them. He explained that they are Shilpi and Amit Agarwal, but not the same Shilpi and Amit Agarwal who are dead. Amit Agarwal explained that TOI must have taken their picture off their Facebook page and used it for the story where the other Amit Agarwal killed his estranged wife and mother in law before shooting himself.
The happy couple, which is very much alive, then waved at their audience that they are very much alive and thanked everyone who had reached out to them expressing their concern about their wellbeing. After the video was uploaded, Times of India has updated its web story and used a representational image and added the disclaimer that they had used a wrong image earlier.
