Rumour

A video is being shared on social media with the caption "Near Tirumala bypass 4 terrorists. One on spot killed and 3 others arrested".

The video has been shared by many users on Facebook. You can watch some of these posts here and here.

The video was shared on Twitter as well with a similar claim.

The video was uploaded on Youtube as well with similar claims. You can watch the video here:

Our Investigation

After analysing the video, we found a news report uploaded on Youtube by a local channel NTV Telugu. The channel reported the training exercise on January 12, 2019. At about 3:08 minutes of the channel’s broadcast, the clip viral on social media can be seen at around 3:08 minutes.

From, the report, it is clear that the viral video is not from any terrorist attack but it was a mock drill by Telangana Police.

We also found reports of mock drills by several mainstream media houses like Telangana Today. 

Speaking to ‘Telangana Today’, ACP Narsaiah said that they had conducted the mock drill at the Bhadrakali temple following the instructions from the Police Commissioner V Ravinder.

“The mock drill is aimed at measures that have to be taken during a terrorist attack. How to rescue and evacuate the devotees/people, if they were held hostage in the temple and also detect and defuse the explosive devices installed by the terrorist,” he said, adding that they had also conducted the drill called as ‘vehicle assault’ which is aimed at intercepting the vehicle of the terrorists at the MGM Junction.

“We have also used the services of the sniffer dogs and bomb disposal squad that identify and defuse the improvised explosive device (IEDs),” he said.

The report also mentions that the sudden arrival of the Octopus forces wearing the black dress carrying the most advanced weapons has shocked the devotees and local people for some time. However, they have calmed down after knowing that it is a mock drill by the police force.

Further, we couldn't find any report about any terrorist attack in Telangana in the recent past.

Fact

There was no terrorist attack in Tirupathi Tirumala bypass road in Telangana. Telangana police had conducted a mock drill with the help of Octopus forces. A clipped video of this mock drill is going viral on social media.