Recently on various WhatsApp groups, a fake text is being shared a lot. It is written in first person perspective and claims that Gurugram Policemen planted drugs in car trunk at a check post.
WhatsApp Message Text:
“In Gurgaon, On my way home today at around 8: 15 pm, as soon as I took a right turn from star gate towards old terminal, a policeman signalled me to stop.
As I stopped, he asked me to open the trunk of the car. I opened the trunk from inside and was about to step down, but the policeman said, “Ok Ok u may go.”
I started my car and started driving, but something struck my mind, as from my rear view mirror, I saw one of the policemen immediately on his phone.
I went a bit ahead and finding a good road light stopped my car. Switching off the engine I went and opened my car trunk.
Guess what…. I was shocked to see two small zip lock pouches with white crystals inside. I was numbed but just decided to throw it away and thanked God for saving me from such rascals who would have caught me in a drug related case.
The policemen must have informed their Bhai standing at the next checkpoint to get hold of so and so car number.
I was correct in my guess. Approx half a mile later I was stopped by another policeman. This time too I was asked to open my trunk.
Now I got down, went behind and opened the trunk physically. I’m sure they must have been puzzled and surprised that they did not find anything.
Please don’t open your car trunk from inside, for anyone, even at Malls. Always step down and open the trunk with keys and permit searching under your own supervision.
Kindly share this as much as u can, to save people. Happened with a resident in Nile Apartments.. Gurgaon..”
NARRATIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
These types of hoax messages are being shared by mischievous people to create confusion in the minds of readers. Online this kind of message has been shared in many countries:
From a Viber group
Forwarded As received…..
On my way home today at around 8: 15 pm, as soon as I took a right turn from star gate towards old terminal, a policeman signalled me to stop.
As I stopped, he… https://t.co/YEYiXmFETM
— ab0x3dlifE (@_mayet26_) November 4, 2018
.@Gidi_Traffic, Please help me ask @StevetweetsA – Where is “star gate towards old terminal” located in Abuja?
This message is a #FakeNews, this broadcast has been in circulation for over 10 years now. https://t.co/bRTHDGuVcD— Abayomi Shogunle, 𝘧𝘴𝘪 (@YomiShogunle) November 7, 2018
Haay that viral @Facebook or @Viber police incident point to an Indian Facebook group . Also, Where is that star gate towards old terminal ? Whoever shared this is doing a social experiment https://t.co/X3xo2Rfi45 pic.twitter.com/iNroFeZTjU
— Noemi L. Dado (@momblogger) November 6, 2018
OUR FACT CHECK
Fact Crescendo team did a fact check on this issue. We did Google Reverse Image search & Google search of the message text and found many references online. We also researched various WhatsApp groups, Facebook & Twitter handles to see who were sharing and commenting on this hoax message.
We found the following:
- This fake message is being shared around on WhatsApp groups and online from last few years in many countries.
- Most of the people who share or view these images are confused as to what is real and what is fake.
- To help our readers we have given few pointers below:
- We spoke personally with Subhash Boken, Public Relations Officer (PRO) with the Gurugram Police on 28th November 2018, and he stated that “this message was absolutely fake”. He also stated that Gurugram Police is very pro-active in resolving citizen’s requests and if anyone needs to bring any issue to their notice, they can use the Gurugram Police official twitter account to post their concerns. They can also Dial 100 or 0124-2221601 in case of emergency.
- Subash Boken also confirmed that there is No landmark in Gurugram as described in the hoax message. As well as there have not been any reports of such incidents happening in Gurugram.
IN CONCLUSION
Fact Crescendo team tags these kind of posts as Fake. These kinds of hoax posts or messages will be shared across by many people using WhatsApp and other social media applications again & again. But we as readers should be aware of the reality of these kinds of messages, as to what they really are – just Fake.
Fact Crescendo advises its readers to refrain from falling prey to unsubstantiated & misleading WhatsApp forwards and social media posts. When in doubt, visit various news media & fact checking websites online.
Dear Readers,
Do you feel that a certain story is fake? Do you know some additional factual details about a claim being shared on social media?
Then you can submit that claim or news here, for our team to verify and fact check for you.
Thanks,
-Fact Crescendo Team-
