Lockdown: 366 cases in Maharashtra for social media posts

WhatsApp treating Indian users differently from Europeans matter of concern: Centre to HC

Mumbai:

The cyber wing of the Maharashtra Police has registered 366 cases for allegedly spreading rumours, misinformation and fake news social media ever since the lockdown came into force, an official said on Sunday.

These cases have been registered till Saturday, the official said.

“The cases were recorded after some anti-social elements spread false news and rumours through their posts on social media platforms, including TikTok, Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter during the lockdown,” an official of the Maharashtra Cyber said.

The highest number of such cases were registered in Beed at 35, followed by 29 in Pune Rural, 26 in Jalgaon and 21 in Mumbai, official added.

“In Chandrapur district, four cases were registered as the accused tried to disturb the communal harmony through their posts on Facebook,” he added.

During the probe, the cyber department found that 155 cases were related to WhatsApp posts, 143 Facebook posts, 16 about TikTok videos, six about Twitter posts, four others about Instagram posts, among others.

The police have urged the people, especially senior citizens, not to share their bank details with anyone while buying anything online.