Who is Jay Singh Rathore and why is he trending on X? ₹1.5 lakh fundraiser, hospital warning and a late-night X Space explained

A fundraising appeal on X that initially moved people to donate has now turned into one of the biggest controversies on the platform.

The name at the centre of it is Jay Singh Rathore , an X user who claimed that his younger sister needed urgent eye treatment and appealed to strangers online for help. Within about a day, he said the fundraiser had collected more than ₹1.5 lakh.

Then questions about the medical documents started surfacing.

The controversy grew after Shroff Eye Centre issued a public warning saying that someone had allegedly created a fake patient record, prescription and estimate using the hospital's letterheads. Rathore subsequently appeared in several X Spaces, where users questioned him about the fundraiser and the documents.

So, who is Jay Singh Rathore and what exactly happened?

What did Jay Singh Rathore claim?The original post, which has since been deleted, presented Rathore as a 16-year-old seeking help for his 12-year-old sister.

He claimed that she was at risk of losing her eyesight and needed urgent treatment. The post included medical documents and asked people to contribute even small amounts, such as ₹10 or ₹20.


The appeal quickly spread on X. By the following day, Rathore said he had received more than ₹1.5 lakh from donors.

He later removed the payment details, saying the family had received more money than required.

Why did the fundraiser come under scrutiny?Things changed when users began questioning the medical reports and prescriptions attached to the appeal.

Rathore had claimed in a now-deleted thread that his sister was being treated at Shroff Eye Centre. The hospital subsequently addressed the issue publicly.

In an Instagram Story, Shroff Eye Centre warned that someone had allegedly created a fake patient, prescription and estimate sheet using its letterheads and was approaching NGOs and individuals for financial assistance.

The hospital urged people to be cautious and share the warning so others wouldn't fall victim to what it described as deception.

That statement became a major turning point in the controversy.

What did Jay Singh Rathore say in the X Spaces?As the questions piled up, Rathore joined several X Spaces to respond.

During the discussions, he reportedly said that his father was actually the family member who was unwell and that he had used his sister's name in the fundraiser to get more attention online.

He described what he had done as a mistake and maintained that his family was facing financial problems.

At another point, reports said he claimed he had done it “for fun”, adding to the confusion around his explanation. He also broke down during one of the Spaces while facing questions from users.

People taking part in the Spaces continued to question him about the fundraiser and demanded that the money be returned.

Did he return the money?Rathore said he would refund donors and later shared screenshots of payments, claiming that some contributors had already been reimbursed.

Other users also posted screenshots that they said showed his bank balance falling from ₹1,58,282.58 to ₹1,37,893.58.

But those screenshots have not been independently verified, and a change in a bank balance by itself doesn't establish that the money was refunded to donors.

Another X user, @Raniisaa_, who had amplified Rathore's original appeal, was also accused online of being connected to the controversy. She subsequently denied having any connection with him.

Why is Jay Singh Rathore trending on X?What made the story spread so quickly was the dramatic shift in the narrative.

It started as an emotional appeal for a child's medical treatment, with strangers coming together to donate money. Within hours, questions about the documents led to a hospital warning, followed by long and often heated X Spaces where Rathore was questioned about his claims.

By September 23, the controversy had spawned memes, jokes and several lengthy discussions on X. Some users even referred to the marathon Spaces as “Chai Pe Charcha”.

In his latest reported X Space, around 3:30 am on September 23, Rathore said he would return in the morning to explain his original post and address the money collected from donors.

For now, the online controversy continues to revolve around three questions: what happened to the money, who created the medical documents flagged by Shroff Eye Centre, and whether all donors who contributed will be refunded.

Those questions remain the subject of the ongoing social-media discussion, while some of the claims and screenshots circulating online have yet to be independently verified.