For the second time in a span of four days, rumours spread via SMSes created panic across the state. Late on Sunday night and Monday morning, thousands of people rushed to hospitals after rumours spread that several people had died after applying mehndi for Id-ul-Fitr celebrations in Bengaluru. But it was found that no one had either fallen sick or died after applying mehndi anywhere in the state.
Earlier this week, threat SMSes targeting North-Easterners had spread panic, leading to an exodus of over 30,000 from the city.
It all started around 11.30 pm on Sunday when people started receiving SMSes that residents of Chintamani, Koppal, Kolar, Mulubagil, Siddlaghatta, Chikballapur, Mandya and other places had fallen sick after applying mehndi. In Bengaluru too, hundreds of people rushed to hospitals with complaints of itching, giddiness and uneasiness. In the early hours of Monday, long queues could be seen in front of a few hospitals in the city. But by morning, it was confirmed that it was the handiwork of some miscreants. In Siddlaghatta, Kolar and Mandya, people continued to throng hospitals till 5 am on Monday which marred the Id-ul-Fitr celebrations.
In Bengaluru, similar queues were found at hospitals on JC road, KR Puram, Hoskote and surrounding areas. As children too had applied mehndi, worried parents rushed to hospitals. Some hospitals witnessed tense situation with the parents arguing with the hospital staff. At several places, community leaders came out to pacify the crowds, saying it was a mere rumour doing the rounds.
A doctor at a city hospital said some of them would have been allergic to mehndi and had panicked when the SMSes started doing the rounds. “Instead of verifying news, the people rushed to hospitals. As incident happened late in the night, we didn’t feel any pressure,” he said.