Fraudsters target another CM initiative

LUCKNOW: After bringing out a fake online opinion poll on an outof-court settlement of the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi issue, fraudsters have again targeted the state government. A fake advertisement on behalf of the UP government was displayed on social media, which said that there were vacancies in the chief minister’s fleet for drivers who did not chew tobacco or pan masala.

The UP police on Saturday clarified that no such advertisement or proposal for new jobs had been mooted by the state government.

“While keeping a vigil on social media, the state police came to know that some fraudsters were trying to encash CM’s initiative of banning pan masala and tobacco in government offices. They had circulated a message on facebook and twitter, stating that drivers, who did not chew tobacco or pan masala, were required for the CM’s fleet,” said UP police spokesman, Rahul Srivastava.

He made an appeal to the public to ignore the fake advertisement and said that the cyber crime cell was probing the incident. “Stern action will be taken against those involved in it,” he said.

Earlier, close on the heels of the Supreme Court order recommending out-of-court settlement to the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi issue, a fake UP government website initiated a referendum on the disputed site in Ayodhya.

The referendum was attributed to the newly sworn-in chief minister Aditya Nath Yogi.

The fraudsters created the website — www.ayodhyaissue.gov-up — that also carried a picture of the CM. A message of the referendum on the contentious issue soon went viral on social networking platform WhatsApp.

The website said that the Supreme Court on March 21, 2017 had observed that the Ayodhya dispute must be settled amicably through a cordial meeting of all parties, and the platform (website) was giving a chance to the general public to express their opinion on the subject, which would be helpful in creating a consensus for resolving the issue.