Taking serious cognisance of false reports uploaded on the night of July 7 on electronic portals and social media purporting many deaths following heavy rain in four districts of Uttarakhand, the disaster management department has directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Garhwal, to initiate legal action soon in this case against the culprits.
According to the department, on Thursday night electronic portals and social media were used to spread false report about 40 people dying as a result of heavy rain in Rudraprayag, Tehri, Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts. Further, the authorities have also issued an appeal to all citizens asking them to desist from helping spread such false information on the internet or any other medium of mass communication.
Such false and misleading reports can result in creating an atmosphere of fear in the areas stated which also exerts detrimental effect on the local residents and tourists. The officials point out that such spreading of false and misleading information also comes under the category of crime punishable under law. The public, especially in mountainous and vulnerable sites, is requested to keep a watch on the meteorological condition and other relevant aspects in their surroundings.
In the recent past, similarly false information was spread through social media purporting that the bridge at Govind Ghat had collapsed following heavy rain, along the route taken for the lokpal-Hemkund Sahib pilgrimage. A few days ago, another case of such misinformation emerged purporting that nearly two dozen people had died following a cloudburst in Neri village area of Uttarkashi district on Wednesday.
The Uttarkashi district administration lodged an FIR in the case of misinformation being spread on a cyber portal with false report stating that 22 people had been killed following cloudburst in the Neri village in Uttarkashi on Wednesday.