Telangana police mock drill video viral as terror attack in Tirupathi Tirumala bypass road - Alt News
Pooja Chaudhuri
23rd January 2019 / 8:49 pm
A video viral on social media is being circulated with claims that one terrorist was killed and three were arrested at Tirupathi Tirumala bypass road.
The video has been shared by multiple individual users on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Its virality suggests that the clip has been forwarded on WhatsApp as well.
The video does not depict a terror attack in Tirupati Tirumala bypass road. It is, in fact, of a mock drill conducted by Telangana police’s OCTOPUS team in Warangal district. A local news channel NTV Telugu reported the training exercise on January 12, 2019. At about 3:08 minutes of the channel’s broadcast, the clip viral on social media can be seen.
The mock drill was also reported by other mainstream media outlets in the southern states. Telangana Today reported on January 11 – “In order to send a message to the people that the police force is always ready to rescue them in case of any terrorist attack, the personnel of the elite commando force Octopus (Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations) with the assistance of the local police have conducted a mock drill at the famous Bhadrakali temple.”
The report also mentioned that the “sudden arrival of the Octopus forces wearing the black dress carrying the most advanced weapons” shocked devotees and local people. However, they calmed down after the police informed that it was only a mock drill by the force.
Boomlive earlier fact-check the viral claim and also spoke to Mohan Krishna, PRO of Warangal police Commissionerate, who informed that the OCTOPUS team held two mock drills in Warangal, the Bhadrakali temple and near the junction of MGM hospital, on January 11. “We are shocked to know that the video from mock drill is being spread as terror attack. It was only a mock drill involving highly skilled commandos. There is nothing to worry about,” said Krishna.
Social media claims suggesting that the video depicts terrorists nabbed in Tirupathi Tirumala bypass road are, therefore, completely false. Earlier, another police mock drill in Jharkhand was shared as MP police firing at farmers in Mandsaur.
Pooja Chaudhuri is a senior editor at Alt News.
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