Kolkata: Concerned over "sensitive" social media posts amid the COVID-19 lockdown, the Andaman and Nicobar Police in the last week have made several arrests, including senior government officials, their relatives, a policeman’s son and a journalist.
It started with a communally sensitive message circulated last week through WhatsApp groups. A few days ago, an anonymous caller informed the officer-in-charge of Aberdeen police station in Port Blair about these messages.
During investigation it was found that the message was circulated by the wife of a fire department official. Further investigation revealed that the message was circulated by her relatives and friends.
All of them were arrested under Sections 153A/188/505 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 51B of the Disaster Management Act. They were produced before court and later released on bail. Their mobile phones have been seized and sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CSFL) for retrieving the data and/or content.
During the investigation, the police further found that a senior official at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in South Andaman is involved in "posting communally sensitive and instigating tweet to disrupt public harmony". An FIR was filed in this regard on April 25, said a statement from the Andaman Police, adding that the accused was arrested and released on bail.
During the ongoing investigation, two more people, including the son of a police constable and a journalist, were found guilty of posting communally sensitive social media posts.
While the constable’s son was arrested on April 24, the journalist was booked three days later. Both were produced before court and released on bail with warnings.
The journalist reportedly landed in trouble over a couple of tweets. One of them asked: “Can someone explain why families are placed under home quarantine for speaking over phone with COVID patients?”
His second tweet said: “Request #COVID19 quarantined persons not to call any acquaintance over phone. People are being traced and quarantined on the basis of phone calls.”
The journalist allegedly tweeted after having gone through an article in a local news portal in Port Blair.
Andaman's Director General of Police Dependra Pathak urged citizens to avoid posting sensitive messages on social media. "It is unfortunate that people working in government establishments and holding responsible positions are doing it in Andaman," he said.
On action against the journalist, Pathak said the tweet is serious in nature and "is an attempt to discourage people to come forward to help the administration with truth – in case they have COVID-19 symptoms".
"Their social media posts were found to spread mistrust about the protocols being followed by the administration and thereby pursuing people not to cooperate in the screening process or give false statements, defeating the efforts of contact tracing, endangering the COVID-19 containment process and also the lives of citizens at large,” he added.
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