Several social media users falsely claimed that the Indian Railways has cancelled all passenger trains till 31 March while sharing a year-old ABP News bulletin, which was broadcast at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic.
CLAIM
Facebook page ‘PBR News,’ shared the video, garnering over 4.1 million views at the time of writing this article.
Another page, ‘Mera Panipat,’ had garnered over 2 million views on the same video.
The video was also shared by some users on Twitter.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
Since the video carried a logo of ABP news, we looked through its YouTube channel and found that the viral clip has been taken from a bulletin dated 22 March 2020.
In fact, the government order shown in the bulletin clearly says ‘2020.’
The Ministry of Railways had announced a suspension of all its passenger services last year from 22 March 2020 midnight to 31 March 2020 midnight, in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Further, in a press release dated Monday, 15 March, the Railways Ministry called the social media posts on cancellation of trains till 31 March, “purely misleading and not based on facts.”
“All may please be informed that the video being circulated is last year’s news being peddled today. Indian Railways has not made any such announcement,” the statement read.
It also noted that special trains, which include express trains and suburban trains, are currently operational and urged passengers to follow COVID protocol.
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