A video of a mock drill conducted at Maharashtra's Paratwada is viral on social media with false captions stating that armed terrorists were caught by commandos in Amravati.
BOOM spoke to the police constable Alkesh from Paratwada police station, who confirmed to us that that the viral video showed a mock drill conducted to see the preparedness of the forces.
The 3.19 minutes long video shows a group of armed forces pinning down two masked men at gunpoint as others film the event. They are then taken away in a police vehicle, amid strong security.
The video was shared on Facebook with a caption in Hindi, "Two terrorists were caught in Amravati, Maharashtra while carrying bombs in the bus." (Original text in Hindi: महाराष्ट्र के अमरावती मे दो आतंकवादी पकडे गये ये बस मे बम ले कर जा रहे थे)
Click here to see the post.
The same video is doing the rounds on Facebook with the same claim.
BOOM found the video is also viral on YouTube with the same claim.
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Fact Check
BOOM ran a keyword search on YouTube with 'Terrorist caught at Amravati Bus stand' and found a longer video of the same incident recorded from a different angle. The video was uploaded by a YouTube channel "City News Paratwada" on October 14 with a Hindi title, "Bomb exploded at bus station, 2 terrorists were caught, chaos ensued." (Original title in Hindi: बॉम्ब स्फोट हुआ बस स्टेशन पर, २ आतंकवादी पकडे गये, अफरातफरी मच गयी.)
The speaker in the video can be heard saying that this incident happened in Paratwada bus stand. From the 4 minutes 45 seconds of the video, a police personnel can be seen speaking in Marathi to the crowd. The police personnel can be heard saying that they conducted a mock drill at Paratwada to see the preparedness of the forces; he further states that the force wanted to convey it to locals that if such a situation arises, this is what their reaction and process will be.
Taking this as a cue we reached out to Paratwada police station. Police constable Alkesh confirmed to BOOM that the viral video was part of a mock drill conducted by them to spread awareness among people.
Also Read: Old Video From Bihar Peddled As BJP MLA Barred From Entering UP Village