Firozabad police refute Zee News claim that medical staff escorting Tablighi Jamaat men was pelted with stones

The Firozabad police have refuted a media report claiming that a medical team escorting coronavirus-positive members of the Tablighi Jamaat was pelted with stones in Uttar Pradesh.

The claim was made in a report by Zee News’ Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand vertical on April 6, 2020. It was also tweeted out and shared on Facebook.

“You are spreading false and misleading news when neither a medical team nor any ambulance has been pelted with stones in Firozabad district,” the Firozabad police tweeted from their official handle. “Delete your tweet immediately.”

The report was also shared on Zee News’ Facebook page, where it received more than 5,500 likes and 1,400 shares. The headline of the article on this post hasn’t changed yet.

The Zee News tweet has since been deleted and the report edited. The edited report claims that four of the seven Jamaat members tested for the virus in Firozabad have come out positive.

“All these Jamaatis are from Bihar, and they were hiding in the Salman Farsi Mosque of Durgesh Nagar, which comes under the Rasulpur area of ​​Firozabad,” it said. “Apart from these, the tests were conducted on 11 Jamaatis from Gujarat who were living in the mosque in the Ramgarh area. All these have escaped the grip of the coronavirus. Their tests have come negative.”

As of 9 am on April 6, there are 227 active cases of the novel coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh. Two patients have died and 19 have recovered.