COVID-19: Man posts ‘no ventilators in Ludhiana’ on Facebook, booked for sedition
The Ludhiana police Sunday booked a man under the charges of sedition after he allegedly posted on social media that there were ‘no ventilators in Ludhiana district to treat patients’ amid the coronavirus outbreak.
An FIR was registered against Simranjit Singh of Dharampura area.
Investigating officer in the case, ASI Surjit Singh, said the man had posted on Facebook that ‘there is not even a single ventilator in Ludhiana district to treat coronavirus patients’.
The ASI added that the post also asked people to donate money for a particular NGO, which was ‘planning to buy ventilators’ for coronavirus patients. The post further had some phone numbers for people to contact to ‘donate money’ to the NGO.
In its official FIR briefing, Ludhiana police said that the man had been booked because he ‘created panic, tried to mislead administration during lockdown, and attempted to create a feeling of hate among common people towards the government.’
The FIR was registered at division number 3 police station of Ludhiana city under the sections 124-A (sedition), 188 (disobedience of orders duly promulgated by public servant), 505(1)(b)(statements conducing to public mischief with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public..whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquility) of IPC; section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act and section 54 of Disaster Management Act.
He was yet to be arrested by the time this report was filed.
