Authors
Shaminder started off his career as a freelance journalist for a consulting and research firm. He has been a Political Strategist and Media Manager. Before joining Newschecker, he worked with various reputed media agencies like Daily Post India, PTC News.
A video of police officials picking up money lying on the road is widely being shared on social media giving it a communal angle. In the viral video, police officials can be seen using gloves and sticks to pick up the currency and sealing them in a polythene bag.
The caption of the viral video reads, “Single source finds many innovative methods to spread the virus. The new technique is throwing currency, and the Police will never be able to find you out.”
Here, a single source is sarcastically being used against the Muslim community purportedly blaming them for the spread of coronavirus.
We found that the video is viral on Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp, and several social media users shared the viral video on their respective handles. Several readers sent the viral video to Newschecker’s WhatsApp helpline number for verification.
Fact Check
With the help of relevant keywords search, we came across several media reports regarding the incident, which happened in Indore on April 16, 2020. According to a report by Times Now, panic struck in the Khatipura area of Indore after currency notes of Rs 500, Rs 200, Rs 100, Rs 50, and RS 10 denominations were found strewn in the COVID-19 hit area.
Indore: Currency notes thrown from car spark fears of COVID-19 infection
Indore: Panic struck Khatipura area of Indore in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday after currency note were found strewn in the COVID-19 hit area. Police are now scanning the CCTV footage to identify the person who threw them and why. The notes have been cautiously recovered by the police.
According to a report in Times of India, residents claimed that the currency notes were thrown from a car. After this, Police and Municipal Corporation officials cordoned off the area and collected the notes using sticks and sealed them in polythene bags. The area was also sanitized by the officials of Indore Municipal Corporation, reads the report.
Cash strewn on road sparks jitters in corona-hit Indore | Indore News – Times of India
Cops collect the notes (inset) at Khatipura in Indore on Thursday INDORE: Currency notes found scattered in Khatipura area of Covid-hit Indore gave residents a scare on Thursday. Police confiscated the notes with extreme caution and are examining CCTV footage to identify who left them around and why.
To verify the viral claim, we reached out to the Heera Nagar police station in-charge of Rajeev Bhadoria, who rubbished the claims being made in the viral video. He said, “It is merely a fake claim which has gone viral on social media. There is no communal angle in the incident. A man has come forward for possession of the notes, which got fallen from his pocket while cycling. We will hand over the notes to him after following the necessary procedure.”
Conclusion
It is clear from our fact check that the video of police officials picking up the currency lying on the road claiming that the Muslim community has found another innovative idea to spread COVID-19 is misleading. There is no communal angle in the incident, which happened in Indore.
Sources
- Google Search
- Media Reports
Result: Misleading
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Authors
Shaminder started off his career as a freelance journalist for a consulting and research firm. He has been a Political Strategist and Media Manager. Before joining Newschecker, he worked with various reputed media agencies like Daily Post India, PTC News.
