Man held for circulating messages with malicious intentions

Kolkata: Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested a middle-aged man from Mahestala in South 24 Parganas on Sunday night on charges of circulating messages allegedly with an intention of disturbing the law and order situation.

Police said the accused, Santosh Kumar, is a resident of Santoshpur Government Colony at Mahestala itself and he was arrested from his house. Allegations have been raised against him that he had posted certain articles on a social networking site to ignite tension.

A complaint was lodged against him with Mahestala police station on September 29 and the police had initiated a probe in this connection.

Police got to know his whereabouts after preliminary investigation and they went to his house last night to arrest him.

He was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on charges of deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage reli­gious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or reli­gious beliefs (295A IPC), punishment for criminal intimidation (506 IPC) and certain section of the Information Technology Act.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also urged the people not to give their ears to rumours and had also urged common people to inform the police if they find anyone spreading rumours to disturb the peace and harmony of the state.

It may be recalled that the police had repeatedly urged people not to fall prey to the trap of fake news and rumours. The police had also created awareness through social media itself so that people do not forward fake news even unknowingly and inform the police as soon as they receive such messages.

Rajeev Kumar, commissioner of Kolkata Police, had said a few days ago that the police had also clearly stated that stringent measures would be taken if anyone is found spreading rumours or fake news.