The Punjab Police has reacted in this way after a detailed investigation following reports that the shooting occurred outside comedian Kapil Sharma’s house, dismissing it as a “complete rumour”.
After a short time from the news hitting the wires, police teams had immediately reached the spot where the incident had taken place after a comprehensive search in the area was conducted, senior police officials, including DCP Ravindrapal Singh Sandhu, said. The investigation also included an examination of CCTV footage from nearby cameras.
But officials say there were indications of firing or gunshots or any suspicious activity during the investigation.
The police commissionerate, in a statement, warned people against believing unconfirmed information floating on social media and other platforms. Some of the anti-social groups were deliberately raising rumors in order to create panic and confusion, police said.
The police claimed that they had investigated in detail but did not find such an incident involving the Punjab Police, calling upon people only to rely on the official information being released by authorities.
Both the stories picked up rumours in the news due to Kapil Sharma’s name having been linked to another security-related incident. This incident had recently come to light with reports of gunfire and bullets flying at a nearby Canadian café that had allegedly robbed the comedian, and brought the case back into the spotlight of stoning. This shooting incident had been comingled recently with a shooting at a local café in Canada that had allegedly robbed the comedian, and-associated to gang related activities. Police explained that in the wake of these rumours, the current rumours seem to have been blown out of proportion.
There has been no threat assessment or connected with the comedian in the current incident. Police officials are also keeping track of what is being posted online, looking to ferret out the perpetrators of misinformation.
The clarification from Punjab Police has come after a number of reports on social media were made of gunshots being fired near the comedian’s residence, which sparked concerns regarding the safety of the comedy artist. They recalled the fact that no harm was caused and reminded people that they should not share news without verification.