Meerut Police arrested three for spreading rumours. (Representational Image) Meerut Police arrested three for spreading rumours. (Representational Image)

Three persons were arrested by Meerut Police on Saturday for allegedly spreading fake news about a Muslim man spitting to spread coronavirus. According to police the accused, Arun Kumar, Manoj and Tarun Gurjar, wanted to create communal tension and spread “hatred” against the minority community.

“We were visiting village Lakhvaya during investigation of a particular case. There we heard a story doing the rounds that a local, Naimuddin, had gone to a Hindu person’s shop to spit at people and spread the virus. Upon further investigation during lockdown and questioning, the three Hindu youths were traced. They told us that the story was fabricated to spread tension. The accused will be sent to judicial custody,” said an official from Kankankhera Police Station.

According to the police, the rumour was spread that Naimuddin had come to Arun’s shop and spit at them. To escape any cross questioning about his claim, Arun would open his shop beyond the fixed time in the lockdown and return late.

The police reached the shop to question about violation of lockdown and during the questioning, Arun admitted that Naimuddin had not spit at their shop. The other two accused had accompanied Arun to a temple where they created a bite mark to substantiate their claim. The accused told the police they wanted to turn the entire Hindu community against the Muslims and create a communal situation.

The accused have been arrested under sections 153 B (offence in place worship), 186 (obstructing public servant from duty), 193 (punishment for false evidence), 270 (malignant act to spread disease) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) among others.

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