23-year-old arrested for spreading fake news about Covid-19 in Kapurthala

The man had claimed that a woman in his locality had tested positive for the coronavirus disease

A 23-year-old was arrested for spreading rumours about a person testing positive for Covid-19 in Subhanpur village, Kapurthala, on Tuesday.

A complaint was filed by the panchayat members and the health workers. (Representative Image)

The accused, Arashpreet Singh, circulated a video on WhatsApp groups claiming that a woman in the locality had tested positive for the deadly virus when health workers conducted a survey.

Inquiry officer and assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Gurmail Singh said a case had been registered after local panchayat members and heath officials filed a complaint against the man for spreading fake news about a coronavirus.

The woman in question had tested negative.

The accused has been arrested under Sections 188 (disobeying a public official’s order) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) and Section 54 of the Disaster Management Act.