Amit and Shilpi Agarwal run the successful blog Food and Flavors. The couple issued a statement on the blog’s Facebook page after their photo appeared on the front page of the newspaper and explained just how shocked they really were.
“This is what the journalism has come down to in India,” wrote the couple. “Whatever small amount of trust I had on [Times of India] and on Indian journalism has just gone down the drain. We (Amit Agarwal & Shilpi Agarwal) are doing totally fine and this incident is nowhere related to us. This has really shocked our family and friends and caused a chaos this morning for us.”
They went on, making a suggestion for exactly how the publication should proceed. “[Times of India], please fix this asap with a correction and formal apology. Once again, we are fine and thanks to all the loved ones who are concerned about us. We are happy and together like never before.”
The couple even posted a video speaking about the miscategorization to prove they’re alive and well.
Shilpi told Newsweek the conversation is ongoing, as multiple other Indian news outlets have begun to use their photo, too. “From impact point of view, we are really shattered and our family had a serious shock when they came to know about this from newspaper,” she explained via Facebook. “Messages were floating on WhatsApp and our family was totally traumatized.”
The couple is still putting their loved ones at ease. “We are still getting messages from friends, family and followers confirming the news. Many are still believing that we are dead. This is really disturbing. We are now learning that many news agencies are now using our images and trying to contact them all.”
Shilpi shared a YouTube video by News 18 that also uses the couple’s photos.
The Times of India no longer has a photo of the couple linked to the article. An update was published at the top of the story. “We had inadvertently uploaded a wrong photo in this story. We sincerely apologise for this error,” it reads.
The mistake likely came because the food vloggers share the names of the murdered couple. Amit Agarwal is also the name of an accountant who murdered his estranged wife, Shilpi Agarwal. He then killed his mother-in-law, and shot himself, the article explained.
The food blogger’s fans flocked to show support. Some admitted they were distressed when they saw the news, while others encouraged the couple to take legal action against the Times of India.
The Agarwals have over 1.9 million followers on their food blog Facebook page. You can follow all of their recipes and life updates here.
This article has been updated to say Food and Flavors have 1.9 million followers on Facebook.
