Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday directed all ministers in the Cabinet meeting to lodge FIRs with the police as soon as they find any fake news being circulated on social media.
The Chief Minister headed the Cabinet meeting at Nabanna Sabhaghar in which most ministers were present. About nine ministers could not turn up owing to the present Covid crisis.
Banerjee's message to her Cabinet colleagues came a day after she had expressed annoyance over the vicious rumours being spread over Durga Puja through social media. She had directed the police to take stringent measures if one is caught spreading rumours and fake news.
Police arrested two youths from Ghola and Baranagar in North 24-Parganas in this connection in the past 24 hours. The area falls under the jurisdiction of Barrackpore City Police. Two separate cases have been initiated.
The youth from Ghola, Raju Biswas, was identified by the police to be the person who "had actually created" the fake news regarding Durga Puja and began circulating the same.
Biswas has been booked under Section 505 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on charges of "statements conducting to public mischief". He was remanded in the custody of the police when produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court at Barrackpore on Wednesday.
Another youth, Prabhujit Acharya, is a resident of Baranagar and was arrested on charges of circulating the same fake news. However, the police are yet to ascertain their political identities.
The rumour in the form of a guideline issued by the government was doing the rounds on social media since Monday. On Tuesday morning, the West Bengal Police identified the same and marked the message as "fake" in its Twitter handle and also made people aware of the same through Facebook.
According to sources, in Wednesday's Cabinet meeting, the Chief Minister directed all the ministers to keep a close vigil in their respective areas whether fake news is being spread. The ministers have been asked to take screenshots if they come across any such content on social media and immediately lodge an FIR with the local police station. The direction has been given so that police can act at the earliest.
At the same time, the Chief Minister also directed the ministers to ensure the use of masks by commoners and physical distance in places including market places in their respective areas.