Updated March 15th, 2020 at 22:02 IST

UP police arrests fake godman 'Corona wale baba' for selling talisman to keep virus away

Ahmad Siddiqui 'Corona wale baba' who claimed to cure coronavirus by selling talisman for just Rs 11, arrested by the UP police for duping innocent people.

Reported by: Digital Desk
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As the country is striving hard to tackle the spread of the global pandemic Coronavirus by spreading awareness about it, there are some people who are still less informed and are falling for rumours and unproven ways to combat the diseases. One such case surfaced from Uttar Pradesh where a fake Godman 'Corona Wale Baba', claiming to cure coronavirus by selling talisman for just Rs 11 has been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police.

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The fake godman Ahmad Siddiqui had put up a board outside his shop in Daliganj area, claiming that he had a cure for the deadly Coronavirus. The board read that those who could not wear a mask could use the talisman to keep coronavirus away.

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The chief medical officer reportedly informed the police about the fake godman and arrested him for fraud and forgery. The accused calls himself "Corona Wale Baba" and has been duping many innocent people, informed the Additional Police Commissioner (west) Vikas Chandra Tripathi.

Till now Lucknow has two patients who have tested positive for coronavirus while 11 patients are put up in the isolation wards and their reports are awaited.

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The spread of COVID-19 in the country

The number of Coronavirus cases in the country has risen to 107 including the foreign nationals, as per the latest information by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. In the wake of spurt in cases of Coronavirus across the country, the Central Government on Saturday decided to treat the deadly virus as a "notified disaster". 

As per the World Health Organisation, as of 14th March, at least 5393 people have died and 142, 539 people have tested positive for the virus globally. The WHO has declared COVID-19 a pandemic and Europe as its new epicentre with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from China.

READ | 3 of 4 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 declared coronavirus-free in Rajasthan

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Published March 15th, 2020 at 22:02 IST