A 27-year-old expatriate from Telangana working in Saudi Arabia has been arrested on his return for allegedly spreading false information about the health of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on a social media platform recently, police said on Tuesday. Panyala Raju, a native of Jagityal district, was arrested at the Mumbai international airport on August 14 based on a look out circular (LOC) issued against him after the Cyber Crime wing of city police traced the post to him, they said.

In June this year, the Cyber Crime wing suo motu (on its own) had registered a case in connection with the social media post on ‘false’ information about the health of the chief minister and carrying a fabricated image. During investigation, it was found Raju, working in Saudi Arabia, had posted the message, a police release said.

At the request of the cyber wing, the LoC was issued against Raju and he was detained by immigration authorities at Mumbai airport on his arrival from Saudi Arabia. A city police team went to Mumbai, took the accused into its custody and brought him here, it added.