Gujarat police arrest social media user for posting pothole-ridden "Chinese video depicting Gujarat roads"

The Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) has arrested a social media user and Congress supporter for sharing an alleged concocted Chinese video of pothole filled roads claiming to be depicting the condition of roads in Gujarat.

Police said Prahlad Dalwadi was arrested late Monday night from Vadodara over his post on X, where he shared a video footage claiming to depict the condition of roads in Gujarat. However, it turned out to be old video footage from somewhere in China. Police said that Dalwadi, originally from Nadiad, allegedly added local songs and posted it on social media which went viral.

Following an uproar, it was revealed that the video was from China and many of the users sought strict action against Dalwadi.

Gujarat minister of state for home Harsh Sanghavi also posted on X that it was a fake news being spread to "tarnish Gujarat's reputation".

"Misinformation Alert! This fake people are Spreading false videos to tarnish Gujarat's image is unacceptable. We stand against deliberate attempts to harm reputations. Legal actions will be taken," Sanghavi posted on X.

Confirming the development, a police officer told DH, "Dalwadi has been arrested for spreading fake news, cheating and forging false electronic records."

Following the controversy, Dalwadi had deleted his post and said that he never claimed the video was from Gujarat. In another post he said, "Yes I know that it’s from China , I’ve nowhere said it is from Gujarat. I’m just establishing an umbilical cord between China and Gujarat. The song in this video is a bjp campaign song . I liked the harmony of Chinese road and Gujarati song when I saw this video on the net . Fits perfectly with Modi’s relationship vis-à-vis China."