india

Updated: Mar 02, 2020 23:13 IST

A 24-year-old man, with thousands of followers on social media, has been arrested for allegedly posting details of fake incidents in west Delhi’s Nihal Vihar, the police said on Monday.

Police spokesperson Mandeep Singh Randhawa said Abhishek Shukla was arrested from Nihal Vihar area.

“The cybercrime cell of Delhi Police arrested Shukla for spreading rumours about riots in Nihal Vihar. He has over 10,000 followers on social media, and was using that particular platform to spread rumours,” a senior police officer said, according to news agency PTI.

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Shukla’s mobile phone has been recovered and the alleged social media post has been confirmed to have been uploaded from his profile, they added.

Delhi Police said on Monday they have also arrested 24 people in connection with the rumour-mongering, which lead to panic in some parts of the Capital on Sunday, news agency ANI reported.

It said the force has also initiated action against 18 people and registered two cases.

Delhi Police had also apprehended two suspects involved in rumour-mongering on Sunday.

Police had received around 1880 calls of rioting on Sunday night, all of which turned out to be a hoax.

The panic spread in some areas after the Capital had witnessed at least four days of deadly violence in the northeast region last week as armed mobs went on a rampage killing and destroying property in the area.

More than 40 people have been killed in the violence, which broke out in the northeast district of the capital.

The force was quick to refute the claims of violence and deny there was any unrest in the national capital in a series of tweets.