Mock drill videos viral as Mumbai under high alert of terrorist attack - Alt News
Pooja Chaudhuri
17th August 2019 / 4:41 pm
Multiple videos are viral on social media with the claim that Mumbai is under a high alert. A message warns people to avoid crowded areas as the city is under a terrorist attack. It further says that NSG commandos have fully secured metro station at Asalfa, Sakinaka and Jagruti Nagar (Shiv Shena Branch ) in Ghatkopar.
Mumbai High Alert . NSG Commando Full Security in Metro Station at Asalfa , Sakinaka & Jagruti nagar ( Shiv Shena Branch ) . Ghatkopar ( w) So plz Avoid Crowd Arey.
Posted by Manoj Sharma on Sunday, 11 August 2019
“Mumbai High Alert . NSG Commando Full Security in Metro Station at Asalfa , Sakinaka & Jagruti nagar ( Shiv Shena Branch ) . Ghatkopar ( w) So plz Avoid Crowd Arey,” warns one of the messages.
The other message says, “Mumbai Police commissioner. Total Mumbai under terrorist attack threat, be careful . Total railway station. Total bars. or any movie theatres. Auditorium. Or total public place. Please forward to all group. Jay Hind Jay Maharashtra.”
There are multiple clues in the videos which suggest that the NSG commandos are not thwarting a terrorist attack. Numerous people are standing on the side, calmly watching the personnel. In one of the videos, there are normal traffic conditions. Cars and bikes are not being asked to stop or take different routes. Many people are also recording videos.
Furthermore, if there was a security/ terror threat in one of the largest cities in the country, residents would have been alerted by the administration or the police.
A Facebook page ‘Apna Bombay’ had shared one of the viral videos claiming that it represents a mock drill. “NSG Commando Full Security Mock Drilling in Metro Station at Asalfa, Sakinaka & Jagruti nagar,” the page wrote.
NSG Commando Full Security Mock Drilling in Metro Station at Asalfa, Sakinaka & Jagruti nagar.
Posted by Apna Bombay on Monday, 12 August 2019
Alt News contacted Mumbai police who refused to give a statement, terming the matter “sensitive.” Sources who were aware of the operation, however, informed The Quint that the videos represent “routine mock drills” that take place several times every year across the city.
Boomlive reached out to officials of Jagruti Nagar metro station who also dismissed the social media claims. “The mock drill was conducted as a routine exercise outside multiple metro stations before Independence Day. The videos are of the same. They were made viral with a misleading narrative. Request people to not fall for the same.”
Videos of mock drills conducted by NSG and Mumbai police are thus viral with the false claim that the city is under a terror threat. Earlier, a video of a retired Brigadier of the Indian army was widely circulated as the Commissioner of the Mumbai police warning about terrorist attacks. Such videos can become a cause for unnecessary panic and social media users are advised to not forward any unsubstantiated content.
Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News.
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