Scores of messages doing rounds on social networking sites were spreading misleading information regarding Valentine's Day (February14) and Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar martyrdom day.
The messages were about not celebrating Valentine's Day. The message said legends were hanged to death on the same day, so Valentine's Day should not be celebrated.
Another message doing rounds on mobile phones and social networking sites claimed that British government had pronounced death sentence to the freedom fighters on February 14.
Consequently, city saw candle marches at Jagraon Bridge near statues of the martyrs on February 13 and 14 by some self-proclaimed organisations, and that too without even cross checking the facts.
Professor Jagmohan Singh, who is nephew of Shaheed Bhagat Singh said, “Whole world knows the fact that Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar were hanged to death on March 23, 1931. The special tribunal established by viceroy had pronounced death sentence to the trio on October 7, 1930.”
He said the death sentence had no connection with February14. Condemning the rumours spreading through messages, the Singh said, “This is unfortunate that some people have been tempering the facts over social media just to convince people for not celebrating Valentine's Day.”
Society to file complaint
All India Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar Memorial Society head Ashok Thapar and press secretary Tribhuvan Thapar said they have come across the rumours. “We have contacted research scholar Lakshman from Samastipur, Bihar, about all events of martyrdom of the legends and found that it has no connection with February 14,” they said. Ashok Thapar said he would file a complaint with the cyber cell of the police, so that police could take action against the persons behind these rumours.
{{/usCountry}}All India Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar Memorial Society head Ashok Thapar and press secretary Tribhuvan Thapar said they have come across the rumours. “We have contacted research scholar Lakshman from Samastipur, Bihar, about all events of martyrdom of the legends and found that it has no connection with February 14,” they said. Ashok Thapar said he would file a complaint with the cyber cell of the police, so that police could take action against the persons behind these rumours.
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Earlier, in November 2011, wikipedia administrator Philp Tinu Cherian in his interview to English daily disclosed that in February 2011, some users have tried to change the date of Martyrdom Day, but to no avail. After the incident, wikipedia had locked the page for some days.