SHILLONG: As the death toll in Nepal’s devastating earthquake mounted on Monday, rumour mongers in the city and across the country tried to take advantage of the fear psychosis created by the disaster by spreading baseless information of a major quake striking parts of the country early Monday morning.
According to a message circulated in WhatsApp (a messaging application), it was stated that a release issued by NASA had put the North East, West Bengal, Bihar, UP and Sikkim on high alert as a major quake was to strike the areas at 2.43 AM on Monday.
However, the message turned out to be a complete hoax.
East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner, Sanjay Goyal asked people not to believe in such rumours circulated in the social media. After shocks are common after a major earthquake, he said adding that the Union Government too has asked people not to fall prey to such misleading information.
