Fake News: 2 held for sharing wrong information about Delhi Police on Facebook, Twitter

New Delhi: Incidents of fake news of late have caught the attention of authorities as such developments have contributed to inciting the mob and creating anti-government propaganda. On this issue, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar on Monday said that it was irresponsible to post such content.

Citing the fake news on the picture of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at Rashtrapati Bhavan and that on farmer's death due to police firing, Prakash Javadekar said that some journalists tweeted that it was the picture of an actor and not that of Netaji, which is fake news, as even the actor in question confirmed that it was not his picture. 

In a fake news incident, Delhi Police took prompt action in view of the alarming circulation of fake news regarding the resignation of Police personnel. It arrested accused Om Prakash Dhetarwal, who had posted an old video from September 2020 of Home Guards of another state and portrayed it was from the Delhi Police

The fake news was accompanied by a message of resignation by 200 Delhi Police personnel. Accused had created a Facebook account by the name of Kisan Andolan Rajasthan. The police also apprehended another person for posting fake news about the resignation of 200 police personnel on Twitter.

Acting on the fake news about the resignation of police personnel, the Cyber Crime Unit (CyPAD) of Delhi Police arrested the culprit from Rajasthan, according to the police officials. 

"The mischievous social media campaign has been going on for the last two days propagating false rumours regarding disaffection in police ranks. Old, unrelated videos were being posted with fake news of the resignation of police personnel. Acting on such fake news, the CyPAD Unit of DelhiPolice registered a criminal case and in view of the seriousness of the incident, formed a dedicated team comprising of Inspector. Brahm Prakash, SI Avdesh and others to effect an immediate arrest," DCP Anyesh Roy of CyPAD told Zee Media.

He said that the location of the accused persons was zeroed in and one person namely Om Prakash Dhetarwal has been arrested from the Churu district of Rajasthan.

The accused is a graduate with a Diploma in Civil Engineering and is active on social media. The device used in the commission of the offence has been recovered, said Roy, adding that the accused is being further interrogated.

"One more person has been apprehended from Bharatpur Rajasthan for posting the fake news about resignation of 200 Police Personnel on Twitter. Further, arrests in the case are likely soon. Citizens are advised to avoid sharing or posting any such content without verifying its authenticity," Anyesh Roy added.