NEW DELHI: On September 6, an unfortunate incident shocked not just the people of Delhi but entire India wherein a residential building in Satya Niketan area collapsed resulting in loss of lives. Soon after the news of the incident came out, another bizarre claim started making rounds on the internet, this was that, Delhi Police had installed jammers across the region so that no one could share visuals from the site.
The most prominent face sharing this mis-information was Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj. He made this claim saying, the government deliberately did this, while the people were still trapped under the debris.
The incident involved collapse of a five-storey building which was working as a boys paying guest. The incident left as many as seven people dead with many others injured.
The rescue operation on the site is still going on but this fabricated news of jammers being installed on the site, started spreading like a wildfire on social media platforms. An emotional angle to this fake narrative was also added and that was, the jammers have been installed so that the families of the victim students could not contact them.
This appeal made the allegations even more dangerous.
What did Saurabh Bhardwaj claim?
Days after the incident, on September 8, AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj took it to social media and shared a video on X. In the said video, a YouTuber was claiming that, the government authorities are trying to coverup the incident.
YouTube Media & Social Media is the only hope. Godi Media is a partner in crime at places like Satya Niketan.
Heavy police/ paramilitary is deployed with guns to prevent social media from reporting truth.
Jammers were the first thing to be placed at building site. I think… pic.twitter.com/OyQ9JcQMD9
— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) September 8, 2026
Bharadwaj stated that there us heavy police as well as paramilitary deployment in the area so that no one could reach the spot and do reporting of the incident. He further alleged that jammers have been installed in the region and that the government officials brought jammer even before ambulances.
This allegation was further amplified by several users, not just on X but Instagram as well. Some of the posts went ahead and claimed that there are students stuck under the debris and they are trying to call families and emergency services, but could not do it, as jammers have been activated.
This Government’s Only Weapon is Shutting Down The Internet.
What a Shameful Act by the Delhi Government — They Installed Jammers in the Satya Niketan Disaster Area and Arranged things so that the Ground Reality would not get out.
How Much Information Will They Block From The… pic.twitter.com/ePjVJhRW9m
— তন্ময় l T͞anmoy l (@tanmoyofc) September 7, 2026
While this claim was blatantly made, no such proof was shared along with it.
Delhi Police fact checks AAP
On September 8, the Delhi Police issued a fact-check as per which, “No mobile jammers were activated at the Satya Niketan rescue site.”
As per the statement, mobile networks were working before, during and after the rescue operation. The authorities stated that, the personnels of Delhi Police, NDRF and the Fire Department were communication via mobile phones during the operation.
⚠️ FACT CHECK: Rumours of mobile jammers at the Satya Niketan rescue site are completely FALSE.
📱 Networks are fully operational.
📞 Delhi Police, NDRF, & Fire teams are coordinating seamlessly via mobile.
🎥 Media and citizens are broadcasting live from the site with no…— Delhi Police (@DelhiPolice) September 8, 2026
The police further noted that the media as well as local public were able to broadcast the visuals from the site without any reported disruption. The police appealed public not to share false information in order to gain engagement and asked citizens to rely on verified information only.
If jammers were installed then how the videos came out?
The internet is filled with visuals of survivors who shared videos from inside the debris and no such disruption in mobile communication was reported from their side.
One of the survivors, Aditya, as per reports called his sister soon after the building collapsed and also managed to record and send a video from inside the debris.
A student named Aditya trapped under the rubble of the collapsed PG building in Delhi, recorded a video of himself and sent it to his brother seeking help to be rescued: Reports pic.twitter.com/jLZKSLlkSR
— Mohit Chauhan (@mohitlaws) September 6, 2026
Another victim, Neeraj Bawa called his friend from the rubble and helped rescuers locate other survivors trapped inside.
There were also reports on locals using Blinkit application to request ambulances and oxygen cylinders. As per reports, the request was made around 1:40 PM and an ambulance reached the site at around 1:50 PM.
Political milage at such sensitive time?
There have been instance when reports from such accident site get twisted, false news gets circulated by mistake. But in case of Bharadwaj, this seems intentional. In place of calming the families of the victims and standing by them, he and many like him chose to create panic and share such fabricated information on social media.
There is no evidence of jammers being installed on the site. Yet these claims were made and despite the fact-check, no one deleted their posts.
Fact Check: The claim that mobile jammers were installed or activated at the Satya Niketan collapse site to stop communication is false, according to Delhi Police.
