Mock drill at Delhi's Dilshad Garden metro station viral as "bomb found" by the police - Alt News
Pooja Chaudhuri
21st February 2019 / 2:39 pm / Last updated: 21st February 2019
“Dilshad garden metro station bomb found” – is the message accompanying a viral video on social media. The 31-second clip shows police gathered outside Delhi’s Dilshad garden metro station. The person shooting the video gives audio commentary that cops found a bomb at the station and people are advised to not touch anything. “Inform the police if you find something lying around,” he furthers.
Dilshad garden metro station bomb found.. Request to all please be careful and safe time ..
Posted by Rajsar Foundation Since 2017 on Wednesday, 20 February 2019
The video is widely shared on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, suggesting its possible circulation on WhatsApp as well.
The 31-second clip has been posted with a false narrative. There are no media reports which substantiate the claim that a bomb was discovered at Dilshad garden metro station. It is unlikely that a piece of news this serious goes unreported in the media.
There are other hints which suggest that the viral claims are untrue. If one carefully watches the video, the police are not evacuating citizens from the station. Commuters and passers-by are freely walking to and from the station.
Several individual users have commented that it represents a mock drill. Alt News also found YouTube videos of the incident shot from a different angle that describe the incident as, “Dilshad Garden metro station McDonald’s bomb mock drill.”
We contacted Dilshad Garden police station for confirmation and this article will be updated if and when the police respond.
This isn’t an isolated case of a police mock drill video shared on social media as “bomb found” or “terror attack”. Earlier this month, a counterterrorism mock drill conducted in Mumbai’s DMart hypermarket was shared as “terrorists caught by police.” Last month, a Telangana police mock drill video was viral as a terror attack in Tirupathi Tirumala bypass road. At a time when citizens are at unease in the aftermath of Pulwama terror attack, posting a mock drill video with the false narrative of a bomb found by the police might cause unnecessary panic.
Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News.
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