19-year-old detained for spreading rumors about a lockdown, creating panic

Through his instagram video he advised people to store essential commodities such as food items, medicines, and gas cylinders, as they would not be easily available during the lockdown

THANE: The Mumbra Police have detained a 19-year-old college student for spreading rumors through his Instagram posts that a lockdown would be imposed across the country at midnight on Sunday.

19-year-old detained for spreading rumors about a lockdown, creating panic

The accused has been identified as Arham Azaharuddin Ansari. Through his instagram video he advised people to store essential commodities such as food items, medicines, and gas cylinders, as they would not be easily available during the lockdown. He also spoke of the struggle he had gone through during the 2020 lockdown due to the pandemic.

As his video went viral people across Mumbra began panicking and buying essential goods. The police then tracked down the teenager and detained him from his house near the Kalsekar Hospital in Mumbra. Once he was brought to the police station, the police made him record a new video to apologise for the confusion and declare that his earlier video was fake. He was served a notice and later released after he promised never to post such fake news again. His Instagram profile has been deactivated for the moment.

Anil Shinde, senior inspector of Mumbra police station, said, “We called him to the police station and made him record another video stating the facts and denying any such news of a lockdown. We counselled him and later released him with a notice.”

Meanwhile, amid rumours of a nationwide lockdown, the government has clarified that no such proposal was even under consideration. Petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the reports about a lockdown were completely false and the government has taken major steps to ensure the availability of adequate petroleum products across the country.