Indian government did not issue any ‘rescue flight forms’ for Indians stranded abroad
According to the reports, the government of India is planning to evacuate Indians stranded in abroad due to the coronavirus lockdown starting May 7th 2020. The Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) official handle also tweeted about the same.
Claim: After this announcement, a message started circulating on social media with claims that India has issued ‘rescue flight forms’ for the citizens stuck in different countries.
It read, “USA rescue flight Form::https://forms.gle/EcDvEcJ5S5er3RDZA
Canada rescue flight Form: https://forms.gle/hMqBWUBp8uzKYSGe7
Australia rescue flight Form: https://forms.gle/fw7Xds2XqRAkyuTj8
INDIA INBOUND :RESCUE FLIGHTS FROM AUSTRALIA TO INDIA : https://forms.gle/2BJ5Ae2XgkEhMJAcA
RESCUE FLIGHTS FROM USA TO INDIA : https://forms.gle/ms95wwh2GkcmzZ8s8
Please help us reach as many people as possible to help everyone reach back their homes ASAP 🙏”
However, all these forms are fake and not issued by the government of India.
A variant of this viral post is this WhatsApp forward being shared in Maharashtra and claims to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs. The link attached with the message asks for your personal information as well as VISA information.
The post was being shared on Twitter.
USA rescue flight Form: https://t.co/GDQEqBaZZl
Canada rescue flight Form: https://t.co/AsGBQnbQ77
Australia rescue flight Form: https://t.co/a2UEAmoiGN@PMOIndia @DGCAIndia @AmitShah
— AMAN GUPTA (@AMANGUP40678862) May 2, 2020
The tweet has been archived here.
It was shared by multiple accounts and pages on Facebook.
The post has been archived here.
TRUTH
According to the Central Government, India will begin its evacuation from May 7 to May 13 and will evacuate Indians from 12 countries. PIB even tweeted about the same on 5th May 2020.
In the first week starting May 7 Government of #India plans to evacuate approximately 14,800 stranded Indians. #AirIndia to undertake 40 of these flights and Air India Express 24
— PIB India #StayHome #StaySafe (@PIB_India) May 5, 2020
Union Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri further clarified about all the 64 @airindiain flights.
PIB further addressed the false claims of the forward posts and tweeted against it. They confirmed that the Indian government has not released and circulated any such forms. They also urged people to get information from the official websites of Indian embassies only.
Claim:A whatsapp message is circulating with links to Google Forms titled 'RESCUE FLIGHTS FROM INDIA', for stranded Indians.#PIBFactCheck: Indian Govt has not issued any such forms. It's advised not to click on these links & to register only through the official Embassy website pic.twitter.com/ZEjtxhzqMq
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 5, 2020
Therefore, the viral message claimed by the post is false.
