Fact Check: Is the viral pic of an IAS officer selling vegetables real? Here’s the truth

Any post on social media can now go viral in a matter of hours. Just like that a photo of Akhilesh Mishra, an Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer from Uttar Pradesh, recently went viral on the internet. He was photographed sitting at the vegetable vendor’s spread on the side of the road.

The photo quickly went viral, and people began to speculate as to why an IAS officer was sitting on the roadside selling vegetables. The vegetable stall appears to be at a crowded market, with more vegetable vendors and several customers present.

Now, the officer has spoked out to explain the truth behind the photograph doing rounds on social media. In a post on Facebook, IAS officer Akhilesh Mishra said (translated from Hindi), “Yesterday, I went to Prayagraj for some official work. While returning, I stopped at a place to check out some vegetables. An old woman was selling the vegetables. She requested me to look after her vegetables while she returns in a moment to get her child who had gone too far from the stall.”

“So, I sat at her stall just like that then she came back and a customer also arrived. A friend of mine jokingly clicked the picture and posted the pic on Facebook from my phone itself and I only got to know about it later today,” explained IAS Mishra.

According to a leading daily, IAS Akhilesh Mishra’s image in the Uttar Pradesh administration is of an active and capable officer. He is known to reach out to common people and help them in resolving their difficulties. IAS Mishra also participates in literary and contemporary debates.