The police on Tuesday issued a statement, urging the residents of Gurugram to refrain from spreading rumours, fake news and inflammatory messages regarding the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), which can cause communal disharmony and instigate people.

In the statement, the police said that they have been keeping a vigilant eye on all the social media platforms and warned the people against getting involved in any kind of nefarious activities online.

Subhash Boken, spokesperson, city police, said, “Various police teams are keeping an eye on the social media platforms to check the spread of rumours and fake news. Strict action will be taken against anyone who posts something inflammatory. We urge people to refrain from causing communal disharmony.”

In the past five days, the police have arrested two men for allegedly spreading rumours and posting provocative messages on social media in Gurugram. On Friday, a 26-year-old tax consultant was arrested from Baskushla village in IMT Manesar. He had allegedly written a message claiming that the police had arrested someone from the village who had tested positive for Covid-19. However, no such arrest had been made.

On Monday, a 28-year-old man was arrested for posting an inflammatory message on a chat group of an instant messaging mobile application. The police had said that the message allegedly targeted a particular religious community.