Preet Kaur (Palki) Missing: Hoax

Story:

Preet Kaur (Palki) Missing from Amritsar Station.
If found call: 09718911284

Please try to do the effort: Maximum as per your capability. I request no comments no liking. She is missing from 7th June.

Feel the parents pain… Share it wid maxm people.

Other Versions

1. FACEBOOK Celebrates its another Success In INDIA.. Its a Answer to them Who Are against social networking websites. Must Read And Share !!

Stolen Moments: Facebook users helped in finding a missing girl.

2. (Hindi)

Gumshuda

Amritsar station se ye beti 7 June se laapatha hain. Naa kisi comment ki zaroorat, naa kiseeke like ki. Jitna ho sake share karo..

Iss beti ko iske maatha-pitha se milaane mein sahaaytha karein..

Picture: Story about Preet Kaur (Palki) Missing — Story about Preet Kaur (Palki) Missing

Analysis:

This picture of a girl child supposed to be Preet Kaur (Palki) has been shared online widely for couple of years now. It comes with a contact phone number and a story that Palki went missing from Amritsar Station, asking users to share it with maximum people to help trace her. Many users on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter took to this story and went on to share the picture. However, the fact of the matter is not what is portrayed.

Origin of Story

The origin of the story appears to be a Jan 2012 article published in StolenMomentsForever.com, which is removed later. It says that the 4 year old girl went missing on 9th January from Amritsar, Punjab, India, when her family was helping a relative board a train at Amritsar station. Further, the article says a relative of the child, Neelam Singh, a Facebook user, got inspired by one of their old articles about old couple Aurelia Matias and Luis Matias reuniting after a Facebook campaign and uploaded a latest picture of Palki, giving her Advocate’s contact number for reference.

After the photo of Palki was widely shared online, after much response, it is said that a TC named Babul Singh informed on Jan 12th 2012 evening that Palki is safe and his wife is looking after her.

The Facts

While the mentioned story about old couple Aurelia Matias and Luis Matias reuniting with the help of Facebook sharing is true, that of Preet Kaur (Palki) isn’t! There is no news report of the girl missing, or of finding her again through Facebook sharing. It’s worth noting that at the end of the story, the article (which is later deleted) promotes the social networking site Facebook, and asks the readers to share the story on Facebook. Also, the story is shared on their Facebook page Stolen Moments Forever.

In the stories that carry the mobile contact number, 09718911284 actually belongs to a Lal Kitab (Book on Hindu astrology and palmistry) Specialist in Paschim Vihar, Delhi.

About the Picture

The original picture of the cute little girl, shown at last, seems to be taken from a blog where it is used for a Punjabi poem, with title translating to ‘I daughter of my parents‘. Looks like the stolen picture, which is in fact edited, is used to fabricate the missing story. Notably, the picture is also shared elsewhere as a ‘cute baby’. The story of the missing girl Palki became so popular that it was even used to spam and scam Facebook users. The story circulated in several variants too. Another WordPress blogger (Hindi) states that the mother of the child, Jagdeep Kaur, a Punjabi origin Canadian resident, has complained Facebook about the stealing of her child’s picture in July 2012.

The Bottom Line

There are no credible reports, neither that a child called Preet Kaur (Palki) is missing, or is traced again with the help of Facebook sharing. The photograph is stolen, edited and then the missing story is fabricated – to use it for marketing purpose. While stealing pictures is a crime, it is unethical and unkind to exploit the kindness of netizens with such sensitive stories. Hoax stories like this have been widely shared on Facebook in the past as well.