[ Bengia Ajum ]
NAHARLAGUN, 2 Sep: The Naharlagun police have refuted the claim made by an individual in an audio clip that went viral on social media recently, alleging that illegal migrants assaulted local tribal youths at the helipad area here.
Around four days ago, an audio clip went viral on social media, in which one person claimed that two local youths were attacked by migrant fishmongers near the helipad. The audio generated hate against the Bengali Muslim traders of the Itanagar Capital Region and there have been a few isolated incidents of locals harassing them after listening to the viral audio clip.
Fearing the possibility of the issue taking a communal colour, the Naharlagun police immediately conducted an inquiry into the claims made in the audio clip.
Naharlagun SP Mihin Gambo informed that the police examined all the shop owners and residents of the helipad area, both locals and non-locals, but no one reported having witnessed any such incident in the recent past.
CCTV footage of the area was also reviewed, but no incident matching the description in the audio clip was found.
The police have identified the individual who circulated the viral audio. He stated that he was unsure about the tribe of the person involved and could not recognise him. He also expressed uncertainty about the occurrence of the incident.
“Despite several efforts to identify and trace the actual victim, if any, no one has come forward to report the incident at the police station. The inquiry so far reveals that no incident of assaulting local youths by non-locals occurred in the helipad area, as mentioned in the viral audio clip,” the SP informed.
He requested all to refrain from posting communally sensitive content and material on social media – targeting any community – that could potentially disrupt communal harmony.
