Fake BBC survey predicting BJP’s win in Karnataka polls goes viral
Bengaluru: The circulation of a survey on social media claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to win the upcoming Karnataka assembly elections has been debunked as fake by the media outlet “The Quint”.
The survey allegedly conducted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has been doing rounds on social media, claiming that the BJP is expected to win 130-142 seats, while the Congress may win 58-66 seats, the Janata Dal (Secular) 22-29 seats, and other parties 1-3 seats. However, the purported survey claims have been deemed fake by The Quint.
The alleged survey, circulating on social media and attributed to the BBC, claimed that the BJP would secure over 140 seats in the election. However, upon investigation, The Quint found that the link associated with the survey led to the 'Karnataka' topic page of BBC Hindi, and no such survey or report was found on the BBC India webpage or social media handles.
This is not the first time such claims have been made. In 2018, a similar fake survey attributed to the BBC was dismissed by the news agency.
A fake survey on Karnataka polls has been circulating on Whats App and claims to be from BBC News. We'd like to make absolutely clear that it's a #fake and does not come from the BBC. The BBC does not commission pre-election surveys in India. #fakenews
— BBC News India (@BBCIndia) May 7, 2018
The Quint has concluded that the survey under the name of BBC Hindi is fake.
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Retired IAF personnel arrested for alleged Pak links in Assam
Tezpur (PTI): A retired Indian Air Force personnel has been arrested in Assam's Sonitpur district for alleged links with Pakistani intelligence operatives, police said on Saturday.
Additional Superintendent of Police Haricharan Bhumij said preliminary investigation revealed that the accused had shared sensitive documents and information with Pakistani operatives over social media.
Police have seized his laptop and mobile phone.
The devices have been sent for forensic examination, though some data has been deleted, Bhumij said.
The accused was a junior warrant officer in the IAF and had retired in 2002 from Tezpur’s Salonibari base.
He had later joined the electronics department of Tezpur University, but quit.
Bhumij said a case has been registered under the relevant sections of the BNS and a local court has remanded the accused to five days police custody.
