The Narpoli police in Bhiwandi have registered an FIR against the proprietor of a furniture manufacturing company for allegedly trying to capitalise on the novel coronavirus pandemic through an advertisement.
According to the police, the advertisement was placed in the March 13 edition of a regional daily newspaper, and immediately came under heavy fire on social media. The half-page ad was titled, “ Anti Corona VirusMattress pe soyega India toh badhega India (India will progress if it sleeps on this anti-coronavirus mattress)”. It displayed a “corona-resistant mattress” priced at ₹15,000 and with a five-year warranty, and the address of the furniture gallery in Kasheli, Bhiwandi.
A picture of the advertisement went viral on the same day on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Users were quick to draw parallels with other supposed remedies like cow urine, joking that all such cures could take a back seat now that there is a miracle mattress. The ad also came to the notice of the police and local health officers into the matter.
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“Based on a complaint received from Dr. Balasaheb Davkhar, Kharbhav Primary Healthcare Centre, Bhiwandi, we have registered an offence against Amar Parekh, the proprietor of the company, who placed the ad in the newspaper. He has been booked for making statements amounting to public mischief under the Indian Penal Code, and sections of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajkumar Shinde, Zone II, Thane Police, said.
Mr. Parekh has not been arrested yet, as in cases where the penalty is imprisonment of less than seven years, the law requires the police to first issue a notice to the accused under the CrPC, seeking an explanation as to why he should not be arrested immediately.