5 held so far for forwarding fake news about Balanagar-Jeedimetla flyover
The Balanagar police arrested a total of five people for spreading fake news on social media. They forwarded a video that showed a flyover collapse with the claim that that the flyover is the Balanagar-Jeedimetla flyover and several people had been killed in the incident.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 26 Feb 2021 12:11 PM GMT
Hyderabad: The Balanagar police arrested a total of five people for spreading fake news on social media. They forwarded a video that showed a flyover collapse with the claim that that the flyover is the Balanagar-Jeedimetla flyover and several people had been killed in the incident. On February 24, the video went viral on social media including Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook under the same caption.
Later, the claim in the video turned out to be fake and the police started investigating the spread of misinformation. On February 24, the police arrested two persons, A Srinivas and A Vinod. Both are residents of Sanathnagar, and on February 25 three more persons were arrested. The arrested have been identified as Motilal, a resident of Fateh Darwaza, Syed Sharif from Fateh Darwaza and Sukesh Singh from Marredpally.
Interestingly, the police said that all the arrested persons are above fifty years of age. Sukesh Singh is 58-years-old. The police also clarified that they have identified a total 17 people in connection with the circulation of the video.
The police booked a case under Section 505(1b) (with the intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public) and Section 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of IPC.
The NewsMeter Fact Check team found that the video was two-years-old and is about a flyover that collapsed in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The Telangana Police and the Hyderabad Municipal Development Authority also debunked the video.
A Srinivas was the first person who got arrested on Wednesday. The police clarified that at the time he was the eleventh person in the chain of users who circulated the videos. Later on Wednesday, police also arrested A Vinod. The police are yet to trace the origin of the video.
The six-lane flyover is being constructed between Balanagar Crossroads and Narsapur Crossroads to facilitate smooth flow of traffic on the Balanagar main road.
The minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development, KT Rama Rao inaugurated the project in 2017. The estimated cost of the project was Rs 387 crore.
