Srinagar: Panic struck Kashmir following rumors that two men died as their mobile phones exploded while answering calls from mysterious numbers.
It started with some mobile phone users flashing text messages to others, warning them not to take calls from numbers that began with digits such as 0000888800 and 000011000.
The messages falsely claimed calls from such numbers had caused mobile phones to explode, killing two men.
The rumor spread across the region like a wildfire on Friday, with nervous subscribers forwarding it to their relatives and friends.
''I received this strange message at least 10 times from my relatives and friends. Not knowing what to do I simply switched off my mobile phone,'' said a Srinagar-based shopkeeper, Nazir Ahmed.
Odd rumors can spread quickly in Kashmir, which has been wracked by a 17-year insurgency that has killed more than 68,000 people.
Authorities in the area asked people not to pay attention to the rumors. Cellular phone companies told local television and radio channels there was no truth in it.
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