Hyderabad: In yet another instance of spreading false information, Amit Malviya, the head of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT cell, posted an unverified video of people teeming near the Charminar area. The video is question is something that city police commissioner Anjani Kumar had debunked earlier as fake, while it was circulating earlier itself.
As of now, Hyderabad and Telangana are under a lockdown, with restrictions on movements from 10 a.m. All shops and activities are permitted to function only from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., after which only medical shops and other permitted activities can function. While there was crowding a certain areas on Thursday for a short while in different areas before the 10 a.m. restriction, the Charminar area.
However, the video in question posted by Malviya was undated, and one which was doing rounds earlier as well. “Secularism in India is a one way street where secularists believe that Kumbh is a super spreader, notwithstanding data, which proves that it was aandolan-jeevi protest that led to second wave. This is Hyderabad’s Charminar. Telengana is under lockdown. Owaisi is the MP, KCR CM!,” stated Malviya’s tweet on Thursday.
This is not the only time that someone posted a false video like this about the Charminar. Ever since the Centre came under fire for allowing lakhs of people to gather at the Kumbh mela, many videos about Hyderabad began circulating on Whatsapp and social media. Many believe that is also the handiwork of the BJP’s IT cell. Earlier, the state police also found that a BJP worker used a child to spread false information about chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
On Thursday, many on Twitter blasted Malviya for his tweet, and even posted a video from the Hyderabad city police, which showed an empty Charminar area fro May 12. It is to be seen if the city police will verify the tweet by Malviya and take action as per law.