AIMIM Leader Held For Spreading COVID-19 Misinformation

HYDERABAD: With misinformation on Coronavirus afloat on social media, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Prayagraj district president Mansoor Alam has been arrested for making false claims about deaths caused due to COVID-19.

Police said that Alam had posted on social media that the government is hiding numbers. "The government is hiding facts. While the government figures show over 500 till now, 50,000 people have already died in the country due to COVID-19," read his social media post according to police. His post later went viral, acting on which police said that action was initiated. He is a resident of Gajja in Jahagiraad area of Naini in Uttar Pradesh. An FIR was filed against him, followed by his arrest.

Meanwhile, party chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi had urged Muslims to offer Zuhur at their homes instead of praying Jumah at the mosques.

According to health ministry data, 694 cases have been reported in India as of by March 27, with 16 reported deaths.

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