Misleading message circulating on WhatsApp related to donation for Army’s modernisation: Govt

The Ministry of Defence on Sunday cautioned that a “misleading” message is doing the rounds on WhatsApp claiming that the government has opened a bank account seeking donation for modernisation of the Indian Army.

In a statement, the ministry debunked the message and urged people to “remain cautious and not fall prey to such fraudulent messages”.

“There is a misleading message doing the rounds on WhatsApp pertaining to donation to a particular bank account for the modernisation of the Indian Army and for the soldiers injured or killed in action,” the statement said.

The message being circulated erroneously quotes a “Cabinet decision” to this effect and invokes the name of actor Akshay Kumar as being the “prime mover” of the proposal, the ministry flagged.

“The account details in the said message are wrong, leading to online donations getting dishonoured,” it said.

The ministry said the government has “initiated several welfare schemes for soldiers killed or disabled during active combat operations”.

“In 2020, the government instituted ‘Armed Forces Battle Casualty Welfare Fund’ which is utilised for grant of immediate financial assistance to the families of soldiers/sailors/airmen who lay down their lives or get grievously injured in active military operations,” it said.

The Indian Army, on behalf of the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence maintains the accounts for the fund. Contribution can be made directly in the account of Armed Forces Battle Casualties Welfare Fund, it added.

The PIB Fact Check also alerted people about this “misleading” message with a post on X.

“A WhatsApp message is going around claiming that government has opened a bank account for the modernization of the Indian Army. #PIBFactCheck This claim is MISLEADING. The bank account mentioned in the message is NOT meant for modernization of Indian Army or for purchase of weapons,” it posted on X.

“Armed Forces Battle Casualties Welfare Fund was created to provide immediate financial assistance to the families of soldiers who have sacrificed their lives or were injured during military operations,” it added in its post and also shared a screenshot of the message with the word “misleading” stamped on it.