The Amethi Police tweeted on Tuesday evening that they have registered a criminal case against a young man who took to Twitter to make an appeal for an oxygen cylinder.
The charges include circulating a rumour “with intent to cause… fear or alarm… whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquility” and engaging in acts likely to spread infectious diseases.
The Amethi Police’s action comes two days after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath, in a virtual interaction with select journalists, asked officials to take action under the National Security Act and the Gangsters Act against “anti-social elements” who spread “rumours” and propaganda on social media and try to “spoil the atmosphere”. In the same meeting, Adityanath asserted that there was no shortage of oxygen in any private or public COVID-19 hospital in Uttar Pradesh.
A section of Twitter users who have been amplifying SOS calls for supplies, have alleged that the Delhi Police has cracked down on them and sought to silence them for their work. The police, however, have denied this.
Twitter, meanwhile, has withheld from public view around 50 tweets critical of the manner in which the Narendra Modi government has handled the COVID-19 pandemic, at the Centre’s request.
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