Dharali flash floods: FIR against 5 for 'Nature's bulldozer' comment; cops flag fake news

DEHRADUN: A case was registered against one unidentified and four identified men for allegedly posting and commenting on Facebook an update related to the Dharali flash floods with the caption "this is nature's bulldozer".The case was registered on Friday at Dehradun's Kotwali police station on a complaint by sub-inspector Vikky Tamta after police took suo-motu cognisance of the matter. The FIR was registered under sections 299 (deliberate acts to outrage religious feelings of a group) and 353(2) (circulating false information with intent to promote enmity) of BNS. Kotwali station house officer inspector Pradeep Pant told TOI, "As per the complaint, a man uploaded two photographs of Dharali, before and after the tragedy, with the caption -- 'Uttarakhand ke Dharali gaon me tabahi...kudrat ka bulldozer (Disaster in Dharali village...is nature's bulldozer)'. The other four accused wrote objectionable comments under that post aimed at hurting the sentiments of people. A probe is on to track all the accused and arrest them." Meanwhile, Uttarakhand police on its social media handles flagged at least six posts related to the Dharali devastation as 'fake news'. The six-member social media team of the state has been working to scan social media to check fake news and posts related to the tragedy."We urge people not to share any content without proper verification. If anyone comes across fake posts, they should inform police," said Dehradun senior superintendent of police Ajai Singh.