Vizag man falsely accused of attending Tablighi Jamaat congregation

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to send tremors among citizens, false claims and misinformation have been doing rounds on social media. Over the past few weeks, from unverified claims to morphed images, a lot of misinformation is being rampantly circulated on WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter. A man from Vizag has fallen prey to a similar incident, where he was falsely accused of attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation. The religious meeting held at Nizamuddin in Delhi is one of India’s biggest ‘hotspots’ of COVID-19. 

According to sources, the victim runs a milk booth at Pithapuram Colony in Visakhapatnam. Reportedly, a video, accusing the victim and his family of taking part in the Tablighi Jamaat congregation has been doing rounds on WhatsApp, since Sunday evening. It was further stated, in the video, that the family didn’t get tested for the coronavirus, thereby putting the whole locality at risk. 

As soon as the victim chanced upon the video, spreading such rumours, he registered a complaint with the Visakhapatnam Cyber Crime Police on Monday. The victim from Vizag lamented that neither of his family members had even visited the Tablighi Jamaat meeting in the first place. The police advised people to refrain from spreading such fake news and further informed that those who resort to these activities will face severe consequences. 

It is to be noted that 5 new cases of the coronavirus have been reported in Visakhapatnam on Monday morning. Of these COVID-19 cases that came to light in Vizag, Akkayyapalem and Thatichetlapalem reported two each while a case belongs to Gajuwaka. While it is necessary to keep each other informed about the situation, it is the responsibility of every individual to get the facts right, before pressing that forward button on our devices.