Soon after social media was abuzz with a report claiming that China had taken control of an Indian in-service drone near the eastern sector of the border, the Indian Army issued a clarification, saying that no such incident had taken place and urged the media houses and social media users not to circulate unverified and misleading content.
The development comes after a report claimed that an Indian drone operating near the China border had suddenly entered into the Chinese territory, and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) immediately took control of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), operated it for a brief period, and then returned it to the Indian side.
However, the Indian Army rejected claims made by a social media post that one of its Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) was "hacked" by the Chinese side and urged media houses and social media users to refrain from carrying "unverified" information.
The Army remains fully committed to the security and operational integrity of all its assets, they said. A recent social media post alleged that an RPA of the Indian Army had "veered" into the Chinese territory in eastern theatre. The article also claimed that the RPA was "hacked" by the Chinese side.
It is clarified that the article is "completely baseless and factually incorrect" and "no such incident" has taken place, an Army source told PTI.
The force has urged media houses and social media users to "refrain from carrying unverified and misleading content", which could create "unnecessary alarm and misinformation" in the public domain, the source said.