Not again! ‘High alert’ forwards in Noida after terror arrest

NOIDA: Last month, after the Peshawar attack, followed soon by a ‘terror alert’ in Gurgaon, we told you how panic-mongering ‘high alert’ SMSes and WhatsApp forwards started doing the rounds. In fact, these ‘bachke rehna’ do-gooder forwards are common around sensitive occasions like Republic Day, festivals like Diwali and after major terror attacks in the subcontinent. However, the police have often said that most of the time, all these well-intentioned messages do is spread panic with little basis in fact.Many people, it seems, even hit ‘send’ without reading the message through!
Such ‘watch out’ forwards were circulated in Noida again this month after the arrest last week of two ‘suspected terrorists’ in the city. Details in reports were sketchy, and it was unclear exactly what these ‘suspected’ terrorists’ intentions were, but it was enough to start off the ‘Noida on red alert’ chain message.
‘Dear All ... Noida is on high alert as some terrorist have been arrested today near sector 25, being their motive of blast in the city. It is a request by noida police to general public not to go to crowded places like shopping centers,malls parks etc. For a week. Target area: sector18,25,27,15,31,38a,’ was one such message doing the rounds. Of course, when we spoke to the Noida Police, they said that they had issued no such alert, and people were better off ignoring such messages when they came as SMS forwards. Raj Kumar Mishra, circle officer-third, said, “The WhatsApp message which is being circulated, which also quotes the Noida Police, is a hoax. We have not issued any such directions. All of NCR is on high alert, not just Noida, and that means checking of hotels and guesthouses and maintaining security. It is a confidence-building measure – the police force is deployed at prime locations so that the public feels secure. We want to assure people that there is no need to worry. The cyber crime cell is investigating this hoax message.”
Used to it now; we ignore it: Noida folk
As Suhani Singh, an MBA student here, puts it, “I have received a few alert messages on WhatsApp. Why do people start panicking so much? All my friends were so alarmed after the news of the terrorists’ arrest. No doubt it is something to be worried about, but the police and the ATS are doing their job and we should cooperate with them rather than spread such messages.”
Most people, used to receiving such alerts around national holidays or major festivals, now ignore them. Devesh Gupta, a businessman from Noida, adds, “I have received a number of messages of the same kind from my friends on Facebook and WhatsApp, and then I called almost all of them and asked them not to forward such messages.”
Pramod Mishra, a government employee, says, “I told my friends, ‘Yaar, dehshat mat phailaiye. People just keep hitting the send button without even reading what such messages say. How stupid is that! These messages don’t scare me, but obviously, they alarm friends and family staying in another city.”
It’s a pain and hits business:
Often, exactly the same message is circulated after different attacks or on different occasions. And just like the messages, the ‘target areas’ they urge receivers to keep away from also remain the same. Prominent city markets like Sector 18, GIP and sectors like 25, 27, 15, 31 and 38A have been terror ‘targets’ for many years now, as per these messages.
Retailers in these markets say these messages certainly have an impact, but on only one thing – their business. They say these busy markets see an immediate drop in footfall after any such incident. SK Jain, president of the Sector 18 Market Association, tells us, “After the police removed the makeshift stalls here, youngsters who frequent this market have not been seen. Footfall has dropped after it was declared that the city was on high alert, and of course, such rumours play a role in this.”