Man arrested for spreading misinformation about Coronavirus

Pune Police on Monday arrested a man from Andhra Pradesh for allegedly spreading misinformation about Coronavirus through social media, a police official said.

The arrested accused has been identified as Mohommad Abdul Sartaj who is a resident of Andhra Pradesh.

"A misinformation on social media was bring spread stating that Coronavirus is spreading through chicken hence people should avoid eating chicken, Police has arrested a person in this regard," an official said.

Taking a suo moto on the complaint by the animal husbandry department and farmers of Maharashtra, Pune police tracked the details of origin of the two video messages and found that one video was uploaded from Uttar Pradesh while other video was uploaded from Andhra Pradesh.

Animal Husbandry department has faced huge loss due to such misinformation. People in the state have started avoiding eating chicken in the state which is apparently affecting the poultry farmers.

Meanwhile, the accused from Uttar Pradesh was minor and necessary action is being taken in his case, said police.