BENGALURU: A social media influencer who had put out a post claiming that rowdyism had become rampant in Bengaluru has been arrested on charges of uploading fake news on social media and defaming the tech capital.The accused is S Shahajahan Shareef, 36, a resident of Avalahalli and from Chikkamagaluru. An FIR was registered against her under BNS Section 353 (statements conducing to public mischief).In the first week of Sept, Shahajahan uploaded a video on Facebook and other social media platforms showing miscreants rashly driving a car late at night, trying to mow down some persons. Along with the video, Shahajahan allegedly commented that the the incident happened in Bengaluru and rowdies were going berserk.As the video went viral on social media, it drew reactions from netizens, with some expressing shock while others suspecting that the incident happened somewhere else. The social media wing of Pulikeshinagar police station in east Bengaluru checked Shahajahan’s post. Their probe revealed it was a two-year-old video and the incident happened in Uttar Pradesh.
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“The video was really shocking, and netizens who came across it expressed deep concern. When we realised Shahajahan made false allegations stating the incident happened in Bengaluru, we registered a criminal case against her,” said deputy commissioner of police (east division) D Devaraja.A team from Pulikeshinagar station traced Shahajahan to an NGO working in Malleswaram and three other branches in the city. “We sought an explanation from Shahajahan about the video and asked her to show evidence that it happened in Bengaluru. But she failed to answer. By that time, the video had been shared and viewed over 19,000 times,” an investigating officer said.Soon, Shahajahan was summoned to the police station for questioning. “We seized the mobile and the laptop she used for uploading the video,” the officer said.She uploaded another video later, apologising for her act.
