FIRs Against 54 Social Media Handles on Mahakumbh ‘Defamation’
Pilgrims at Mahakumbh Image credit UP Info Dept
FIR Against 15 Social Media Accounts for Linking Patna Video to Mahakumbh
Web Desk
Prayagraj, February 14: Uttar Pradesh Police launched a crackdown against social media platforms for spreading “rumour” about Mahakumbh. The state police filed FIRs against 54 social media accounts, accused of spreading rumours through false and misleading posts.
“On the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the police are monitoring social media platforms round the clock and have so far taken legal action against 54 social media accounts,” said the state government in a media statement.
During routine social media monitoring on February 13, 2025, the police identified two misleading videos falsely linked to Mahakumbh, added the government.
“One of the misleading videos claimed that a massive fire broke out at the Mahakumbh bus stand, resulting in 40-50 vehicles being burnt to ashes. However, the video was actually from a 2020 oil pipeline accident in Egypt,” added the state government.
The police registered an FIR at Kotwali Kumbh Mela police station against seven social media accounts responsible for spreading this false information, said the state government.
“At the same time, the second misleading video falsely claimed that ‘nationalist people threw slippers at army jawans in Kumbh’. In reality, the footage was from a chaotic event during a film production in Patna, Bihar,” added the state government.
The police identified 15 social media accounts responsible for spreading this misinformation and have taken legal action against them.
The state government shared details of accounts linking the Egypt Fire Incident to Mahakumbh 2025.
“In the past month, the UP Police has taken strict action against various misleading posts and videos attempting to tarnish the image of Mahakumbh 2025,” added the state government.
The state government also shared instances to spread rumour. “A Twitter user posted a mock fire drill video, falsely claiming it was an actual fire incident at Mahakumbh. Action was taken against seven accounts that circulated an old video from Nepal, falsely presenting it as a stampede at Mahakumbh,” added the state government.
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An FIR was registered against a Facebook account that misrepresented a large crowd in the Sangam area as a stampede. “A case was filed against 14 Twitter accounts for falsely linking an incident in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, to Mahakumbh,” said the state government.
Action was taken against seven accounts that falsely claimed images of bodies found in Ghazipur (2021) were from Mahakumbh, added the state government.
“On the instructions of the Chief Minister, the UP police have devised a comprehensive cyber strategy to safeguard Mahakumbh 2025. A dedicated cyber-patrolling team is continuously monitoring social media platforms, swiftly identifying and countering misleading posts,” added the state government.
FIRs are being promptly registered against individuals spreading rumours, said the state government. Additionally, the police are leveraging the expertise of social media professionals to tackle misinformation effectively, added the state government.
Uttar Pradesh DGP Prashant Kumar has urged the public to verify the authenticity of any information before sharing it on social media. He warned that strict legal action would be taken against those spreading rumours to ensure that the sanctity of Mahakumbh Mela remains intact.
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