Kerala Floods: Indian Army warns against fake news, tweets images of imposter in combat uniform discussing rescue ops

With the toll in Kerala floods rising to 210, and over 3.14 lakh people shifted to relief camps, the state also has to tackle fake news. The Additional Directorate General of Public Information, on Sunday, issued a warning against an imposter wearing Army combat uniform in a video spreading misinformation about rescue and relief efforts underway in the state. In a tweet, The ADG PI appealed to the public to forward disinformation about the Indian Army to their Whatsapp number. “We are at it,” the tweet reads.

Imposter wearing Army combat uniform in video spreading disinformation about rescue & relief efforts. Every effort by all & #IndianArmy aimed to overcome this terrifying human tragedy.Forward disinformation about #IndianArmy on WhatsApp +917290028579. We are at it #KeralaFloods pic.twitter.com/ncUR7tCkZW

— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) August 19, 2018

In the video, that has gone viral, a man in an army uniform claims that the Kerala government was mistreating the army. “I am addressing the Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. Why do you have so much animosity towards the Indian army? Is it because your minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan doesn’t want the army to come to your state?” the man says in the video in Malayalam, according to News18. The man said that ’thousands are stranded in Chengannur’ and aks the government to let them do their job. “Just let us come and do our work. We will not take over your state. Don’t be scared,” he said. The two-minute thirty-second video was shared on Saturday on a Facebook page called the Bharatiya Mahila Morcha Thalaserry Mandalam and was shared close to 28,000 times, according to The Hindu_._ Kerala, battling catastrophic floods for the last 12 days,   received some good news  on Sunday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said there is no alert for heavy showers for the next four days in the state, and that the intensity of rainfall had decreased over the last two days. According to the weather agency, “heavy rainfall” is expected only in the districts of Kozhikode, Kannur and Idukki. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday said that though one phase of the calamity was over, rehabilitation would be the next big challenge. “The spirit that we showed in rescue work needs to be replicated in rehabilitation efforts also,” the chief minister said, adding that rescue operations were in the final stages and that 8,46,680 people were living in 3,734 camps across the state. With inputs from PTI Follow LIVE updates on Kerala floods here