Homemaker apologises for wrong message in Darjeeling ...Her statements suggest she had been trying to caution her WhatsApp acquaintances and that she had no ill intentions

Vivek Chhetri, TT, 14.03.20, Darjeeling: A homemaker in Darjeeling has publicly apologised for declaring on social media that she feared a hotel guard in the hill town had contracted the coronavirus.

Ranu Rai owning up to her mistake has been appreciated by many but her actions point to the pitfalls of making unsubstantiated claims on social media, especially in crisis.

Ranu’s audio message had been widely circulated within hours of her posting it on a WhatsApp group in Darjeeling on Thursday, sparking alarm.

Ranu told a group of journalists on Friday that she had thought that she had posted the message in a closed WhatsApp group where “there are a lot of good people.”

“I did not know that many teenagers had been added recently to the group. Some bahinis (sisters) seem to have shared the audio (elsewhere) and it seems to have gone viral,” she said.

Ranu recounted that she had gone to Darjeeling town on Wednesday when she heard some people claim that a hotel guard had been infected with the coronavirus.

Her statements suggest she had been trying to caution her WhatsApp acquaintances and that she had no ill intentions.

“It was around 2pm that my husband, who is a school teacher, called me up and asked if I had shared the audio in multiple forums. He told me to make enquiries and said the video had gone viral,” Ranu said.

The homemaker hails from Singla, about 20km from Darjeeling town, but currently stays in the town for her son’s education.

Ranu said she got “too scared” when he own audio message that was being circulated widely came back to her on social media. “I was shivering. I was alone, my son and husband had gone to school,” she said.

The incident seems to have shaken the family. “The three of us only know how we spent the night,” Ranu added.

The homemaker conceded that she was not well versed in social media. “I am not very well versed in using social media. You might have received the audio, you might have panicked, please don’t panic, please don’t forward it further,” she said, and apologised to both the hotel and the hospital where the patient had apparently been admitted.

Many people living abroad said they too had received Ranu’s audio message, once again underscoring the reach of social media.