Mumbai police have denied arresting two movie extras that were suspected of being terrorists after the bizarre claim garnered international media coverage.

Indian news channel TV9 Gujarati and Asian News International reported on Wednesday that, following an hour-long search as part of an anti-terrorist operation in Vasai–Virar city, police arrested two men who appeared to be wearing suicide bomber vests.

Mumbai Police has not picked up any such persons. Kindly verify facts. https://t.co/vGOi2X3dYi — Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) May 30, 2019

The men were later discovered to be Indian actors Balram Ginwala and Arbaaz Khan, according to the report, who were simply extras in a movie. The story went on to claim that despite the misunderstanding, Mumbai police booked the actors for “creating panic and disrupting the peace among citizens.”

The tweet by TV Gujarati racked up almost 8,000 ‘likes’ and 4,000 retweets, and inspired a number of news outlets including NDTV, Indian Express, India Today, News 18 and even RT to cover the outrageous tale. Mumbai police took to Twitter to rubbish the story on Thursday, denying picking up “any such persons” and telling TV Gujarati to “kindly verify facts.”

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