Hyderabad: Even as massive campaigns are being organised by cops, to not believe rumours on social media, people continue to believe and share such rumours on various social media platforms, forcing the cops to initiate legal action.
On Monday, Wanaparthy police apprehended two minors aged 15 and 16 and produced them before the Juvenile Justice Board. Ms Rema Rajeshwari, superintendent of police, Wanaparthy (Additional Charge) stated that a massive educative campaign is going on in 233 villages in Wanaparthy district to create awareness among people about the potential security concerns of fake news being spread on social media.
“In this case, both the boys put the life of the complainant at great risk, as the voice record asking people to kill went viral in local WhatsApp groups. We appeal to the people not to believe such rumours. Strict legal action will be taken if anybody spreads fake news,” she said.
On Saturday, one Jetti Yadaiah from Manajipet of Khillaghanpur mandal approached police stating that, one Srikanth sent his and his friends’ photos to his WhatsApp number with a voice record.
The voice message stated that these three persons were moving in the village to kidnap children and plan to kill the kidnapped children. The voice record also said that if anybody sees them, they should kill them immediately. This WhatsApp forward was widely circulated in local groups and led to panic. Based on the complaint, Khillaghanpur police registered a case and nabbed the boys on Monday.
