Veteran Hindi actor Sunil Lahri, known for playing the role of Lakshman in Ramanand Sagar's iconic mythological series, Ramayan, during the '80s, on Wednesday quashed rumors of his co-star Arvind Trivedi's death. Trivedi, now 82, left a big impression among fans playing the demon king, Raavan, and was being reported to have died after fake death news began spreading on social media. Sunil Lahri posted a few pictures of Arvind Trivedi on his Instagram page and issued a clarification stating the veteran actor was not dead, while informing fans that the reports circulating were fake. 

The first picture is from the Ramayan TV show and has Arvind Trivedi as Raavan, while the second photo shows Sunil Lahri posing along with the veteran actor. Posting the images, Lahri wrote, "Aajkal koi na koi buri khabar sunane ko milati hai carona ki vajah se, upar se Arvind Trivedi ji (Ravan) ki jhuthi khabar, meri prathna hai jhuthi afwah failane walon se kripya karke is tarah ki khabar na failaye...Bhagwan ki daya se Arvind ji theek hain aur prathna karta hun ki bhagwan unhen sadaiv swasth rakhen (We keep hearing bad news amid the coronavirus pandemic these days. Now, we heard fake news of Arvind Trivedi's death. All those people who are spreading rumours, I am urging you to stop doing it. By God's grace, Arvind ji is fine and I pray to God that he stays healthy.)"

This is not the first time that fake news regarding Arvind Trivedi's death has sparked a debate on social media. Trivedi had last year become a victim of a death hoax, which was later clarified by his nephew Kaustubh Trivedi on Twitter. Kaustubh tweeted, "Dear all my uncle Arvind Trivedi lankesh is all good and safe. Stop spreading fake news it is request. Now please spread this. Thanks."