The circulation of fake messages projecting cure for Nipah infection and raising allegations against the Health Department’s preventive measures has come down to a large extent, thanks to an uncompromising action by the police in Kozhikode district.
Special Branch officials said the arrest of 22 persons from various parts of the district in connection with such offences had gone a long way in containing further circulation of such messages.
A State House Officer in the city said majority of those arrested in connection with such cases were responsible for forwarding the already received fake messages. Some of them shared them with the intention of informing their dear and near ones, whereas a few forwarded them with the pure aim to derail the Health Department’s action plans, he added.
Though it was a bailable offence, All the arrested were charged un der Section 120 (O) of the Kerala Police Act. The police said they would trace the maximum number of persons who had indulged in the harming online propaganda.
For the first time in Kozhikode district, the police had also come up with public address system, warning that those who attempted to circulate fabricated WhatsApp and Facebook messages would be arrested. The State Police Chief and the District Collector too had issued directives to track those who spread misleading social media messages.
Some fabricated messages on Nipah had seriously affected chicken and fruit trade in the State. The illegal content creators had claimed that Nipah virus had been spreading through the consumption of chicken and fruits. As a result, several people stopped consuming chicken and fruits.
A misleading message on chicken consumption, which was prepared in the name of the District Medical Officer, had caused widespread scare across Kerala and neighbouring States. The police said the source of the message was yet to be traced, and the case was being investigated.
