Fake news on COVID-19: Police action against BJP leader & woman from Baranagar

Kolkata Police has lodged a first information report (FIR) against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Anupam Hazra on Friday for sharing a video on social media which was from a different state but was identified as West Bengal and allegedly had communally provocative content.
A woman from Baranagar was arrested on the same day for sharing fake news on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Police said that Hazra had shared a video of some other state and mentioned it on social media as a video of Kolkata’s Kidderpore.
The woman from Baranagar had shared a post on social media claiming that a doctor working at Beliaghata Infectious Diseases (ID) Hospital was infected with COVID-19 and asked everyone to stay away from him. The post had been shared a number of times and it was brought to the notice of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Condemning it, Banerjee on Friday said that instead of lending support to doctors and healthworkers who are constantly putting up a brave fight, people were irresponsibly spreading fake news about them. Such activities won’t be tolerated, she said from the state administrative headquarters Nabanna.
She cautioned that strict action will be taken against such offenders. “Don’t play with fire,” she said. Police took prompt action against the two after CM’s warning.
Kolkata Police has asked people to be more responsible while using social media, especially regarding any kind of news on COVID-19. Strict action will be taken against the offenders, police said.

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