Mumbai man claims coronavirus a govt conspiracy; is arrested

A 36-year-old man was arrested in Chunabhatti in Mumbai in the early hours of Sunday for allegedly uploading a post on Facebook claiming the novel coronavirus outbreak was a government conspiracy and that people should not reveal information to authorities.

An official identified him as Shamim Iftekhar Khan, a resident of Qureshi Nagar in Kurla East.

"His Facebook post claimed the virus does not exist and it was a conspiracy to target certain communities by the government. He also asked people not to give information to authorities during surveys in connection with the outbreak," he said.

He was arrested under sections 188 (disobedience of an order promulgated by a public servant) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of IPC, and provisions of Disaster Management Act, the Chunabatti police station official said.