As if the devastation caused by the rains wasn’t enough, Karachiites were further freaked out when news spread that Manghopir’s famous crocodiles had escaped and entered Karachi’s residential areas.
CAUTION⚠️
Crocodile sighted near #Manghopir.#karachi #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/dffYParZxG— WarAlertX (@HIDDENTRUTH99) August 23, 2020
As is the case with any rumor on the internet, the clips and pictures spread like wildfire, and citizens were terrified of accidentally interacting with the creatures.
Crocodiles?
To figure out the truth behind the matter, the Sindh Wildlife Department decided to investigate. Their findings proved the whole thing was a hoax. But with the amount of fake news that goes around are we really surprised?
“We received complaints of people spotting a crocodile in the ground near Akhtar School in New Karachi. When we came to the location, we even met the man who claimed he saw the reptile. He even showed a video on his mobile phone to the wildlife team but they deduced that the video was from India and not Pakistan,” said Wildlife inspector Naeem.
“The man had shown the video to the children in the area and this created panic there. He, however, escaped when his claims were proven to be wrong,” the inspector added.
His partner Inspector Hasnain further said they visited the shrine as well, where the caretaker Sajjad confirmed that there was no way the animals could have escaped.
Sindh Wildlife Officials Hasnain & Naeem, deputed for covering wildlife issues within Karachi city premises rushed 2 shrine of 'Mangho Pir' on news spread on social media regarding escape of sacred crocodile having historical significance with the shrine
The news proved baseless! pic.twitter.com/K5uYKhr2a3— SindhWildlife (@sindhwildlife) August 24, 2020
“He showed the sulphur springs where the crocodiles are found and said 20-feet long walls have been built around it, making it impossible for the crocodiles to escape.”
“The government has installed CCTV cameras at the shrine so we can tell if any such thing happens,” Sajjad told a news channel.
“[And] these crocodiles are not beasts. They are manifestations of a Sufi Hazrat Khawaja Hasa, who is also known as Manghopir Sakhi Sultan, and should be respected,” he added.
The video that has gone viral is said to be from India and has nothing to do with the Karachi rains.
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