Trio held for fake news on death due to coronavirus

: Three people were on Monday arrested for allegedly spreading fake news in the social media about the death of a person due tocoronavirus (COVID- 19), police said.

"The trio in the age group of 20-25 created fake message that one person died of coronavirus and circulated the false news in a whatsapp group," Assistant Commissioner of Police (Bhongir Division) N Bhujanga Rao told PTI.

The three were booked under section 54 (punishment for false warning) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and during the course of the investigation they were arrested, police said.

Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh M Bhagwat warned those creating and spreading fake news on coronavirus.

Earlier, a case was registered against an unknown person for allegedly spreading fake news about coronavirus (COVID-19) in the social media.

The case was registered under section 54 (punishment for false warning) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 following a complaint by a police official who stated that one unknown person was spreading fake news about coronavirus in a local whatsapp group, a release from Rachakonda Police Commissionerate said.

Further investigations were underway.

The city police had issued a warning against spreading false information on coronavirus and asked citizens not to believe in any unverified news or messages.

As on Monday, four people have tested positive for the virus in Telangana and one among them was already discharged after treatment last week.