RAWALPINDI: Many citizens think that denial of live coverage by the electronic media of Friday’s sectarian mayhem in the city saved the people from the worse.

But, no denying, there were efforts to add fuel to the fire. Technology savvy religious zealots took to social networking websites to spread sectarian hatred, especially the Facebook and Twitter feeds.

They posted unverified accounts of the violence and uploaded pictures — many appearing to be fake — of the Raja Bazaar hotspot to pitch different sects against each other.

Luckily, their reach was limited for the usual reasons: weak signals and irregular electricity supply. Their hate propaganda could barely reach rural areas where hotheads are believed to be more numerous than in the urban localities.

Still, the propaganda did spread scare in big cities. However, the Punjab government took measures to control possible damage. The provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah was rushed to Rawalpindi to give details of the tragedy and the victims it claimed at a press conference on Monday.

Rana Sanaullah dispelled the impression presented by the social media about the death toll and rubbished all rumours.

Nine people died in the violence on Friday and one died on Monday, he told the listless media.

“Ten people died and 56 were injured, including six policemen,” he said.

“Of the injured, 44 have been discharged and 12 are being treated in the hospital. Three of them are in critical condition.”

Two of the dead belonged to South Waziristan, two each to Azad Kashmir, Khushab and Rawalpindi and one belonged to Mansehra, he added.

However many seminary students and people were seen looking at pictures on their mobile phones.

“These are real pictures that my friend uploaded from the social media. The government is hiding facts,” said Mohammad Khizar, a 17-year-old student, sitting in a group at Mochi Bazaar.

“After removing the rubble, Rescue 1122 will find more bodies which I have seen on the internet,” said Javed Iqbal, standing near the debris at Dingi Khoi.

He said that the media and government were hiding pictures but some people had managed to obtain them from their cameras and uploaded them on the internet, insisting that they were not fake.

There were reports that the government would remove the fake pictures and information available on social media.

However, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) spokesman Khurram Mehran told Dawn that the authority had not received any directions from the federal government in this regard.— A Reporter