Fact Check: Woman in Viral Video Is Not Ananya Avlani

Since yesterday, a video has been going viral claiming that an Indian-originated woman in the US had stolen goods worth USD 1300. As soon as the video had surfaced on the internet, users started commenting that the lady is disgracing India’s reputation abroad. The video, which is going viral, is showing that the woman has stolen the things and been caught by the police. An X user shared it and wrote, “India’s reputation is resonating. Let the whole world witness the disgrace… This Anaya Avalani went to America. She entered a store, shopped for 7 hours, and stole goods worth 1300 dollars. Her actions were caught on CCTV; now with handcuffs on her wrists, the investigation is ongoing with rounds of questioning.”

Another user posted the same video and alleged “A Gujju in America.”

And many other users start reposting the video, claiming “the woman is bringing disgrace to India.”

Since it went viral quickly, DFRAC, a fact-check website, has started digging into the video to find the truth behind the allegations.

They wrote, “DFRAC investigated the viral video and learnt that the assertion is correct, but the video that accompanies it is misleading. The video does not belong to Ananya Avlani, the Indian who was held for shoplifting in America. Adding more, “We examined the video under reference and noticed a nearby building where the name of that building was evidently displayed. It was spelt ‘citibanamax.’ When we searched for that word on Google, we found out that it is the name of a bank in Mexico.” They said.

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Despite the viral video, according to Connected India, a tourist woman from India who had stolen the items worth USD 1300 was arrested by US police.

Gujarat Samachar English also published the same story, saying that “an Indian woman was arrested for allegedly shoplifting items worth ₹1 lakh from a US store.”

In conclusion,
Therefore, even though the accompanying movie is misleading, it is verified that the claim is accurate. In addition to being from Mexico, the woman in the video is not Ananya Avlani. The claim's incident has nothing to do with the video.