Man booked for 'causing enmity' after post on 'false' Kedarnath flood situation

Dehradun: An FIR was registered in Dehradun against a man operating a Facebook account under the name Bablu Meena for allegedly sharing a "misleading" video that falsely depicted a flood-like situation in Uttarakhand, "with the intent to create panic among Char Dham pilgrims," police officials said on Saturday.

The case was filed on Friday evening following a complaint by head constable Arvind Nautiyal, who is posted at the Char Dham control room in Dehradun. The accused was charged under BNS sections 353(1)(b) (spreading false information to create public fear) and 353(2) (promoting enmity between religious groups), along with section 54 of the Disaster Management Act.

Sub-inspector Jagdamba Prasad, who is investigating the matter, said, "The user had uploaded a 15-second video on Facebook with the caption: ‘baad ke paani se door rahen' (stay away from flood water). The video shows tourists on a wooden platform near a flooded river in a hilly area, with a sudden surge sweeping some of them away. By Saturday evening, the post had received over 28,000 likes, 339 comments, and more than 750 shares."

He added, "The caption further claimed ‘17 missing… flood situation in Uttarakhand', which is entirely false and misleading. The video is not from Uttarakhand or Kedarnath. It appears to be aimed at spreading fear and misinformation about the Char Dham pilgrimage. A probe is underway to trace and arrest the accused."

The development comes amid a surge in social media posts purportedly showing waterlogged sections of the Kedarnath trek, with several users advising pilgrims to postpone or cancel their travel plans.

In one such video, dated June 16, heavy rainwater can be seen gushing along the trek route. A caption accompanying the clip warned: "Don't come to Kedarnath at this time, it's raining heavily."

Another video, posted three days ago, showed a pilgrim gasping for breath while being offered water by a fellow traveller. The accompanying message reads: "Don't come to Kedarnath now. There are heavy rains and landslides occurring there."