Two persons, including an Intermediate student, were apprehended by the Hyderabad police on Saturday for allegedly circulating fake news about the health condition of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who recently tested positive, on social media.
The accused were identified as Bhemanapalli Shekhar (36), a farmer from Munugodu mandal in Nalgonda, and a teenager (child in conflict with the law), the admin of Teenmaar Mallanna Yuvasena WhatsApp group.
“By circulating the false news on social media, they created panic in the minds of the general public at this disastrous period,” police said. Two mobile phones, which were used for the commission of the offences, were seized by the police.
The 16-year-old CCL is a native of Kottala village in Nalgonda. He was pursuing his Intermediate at Vanasthalipuram and staying at a BC hostel.
The duo was apprehended by the Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force (north zone) team led by inspector K. Nageswar Rao.
As per the police, the teenager created the ‘Teenmaar Mallanna Yuvasena’ WhatsApp group in March and started sharing different posts.
On April 17, the juvenile received fake news on KCR’s health condition from Bhemanapalli Shekhar, and circulated the message in different groups, which went viral on social media. Soon after coming across the message, Hyderabad Cyber Crimes police registered a case and the Task Force sleuths apprehended the duo. They were handed over to Cyber Crimes police for further investigation.
