The police in Manipur’s Kakching district have booked a man for spinning a yarn about a quarantine centre romance.
Officials did not spell out the quantum of punishment for the social media announcement that had been uploaded as a prank.
The Kukis of the district’s Sugnu area had set up the St Joseph quarantine centre for members of the community who have been returning from elsewhere in India.
Locals became restive when a social media post claimed that a volunteer on COVID-19 duty named Mangboi had fallen in love and eloped with Sharon Lamkang, a quarantined woman. The post also claimed that the police were searching for them.
“We checked and found out there were no persons with those names at the community centre. We located the main person behind this prank in a small WhatsApp group that went viral. Action has been taken according to relevant rules,” Victoria Yengkhom, the Superintendent of Police of Kakching district, said on May 22.
She added that the man was from Kakching district.
The district officials have asked people to desist from such “fake news”, even as a prank, that could create panic among the people during a serious health-related crisis.
