The Tamil Nadu Additional DGP V. Baskaran on Tuesday has informed the Madras High Court that 86 people in the state were arrested for spreading fake news and communal hatred against the Muslin community linking them with the coronavirus.
So far, 159 cases have been registered, against 356 people of whom 86 have been arrested. V Baskaran, assistant inspector general of police, submitted an affidavit in response to a PIL seeking action on over 700 complaints in this regard that are pending in various police stations across the state.
According to a report by Ummid.com, a division bench of Justice M M Sundresh and Justice R Hemalatha is hearing a PIL filed by ASA Umar Farooq seeking action on over 700 complaints filed in various police stations across the state but remained pending.
Umar Farooq also had filed a writ petition requesting directions from the High Court to concerning authorities to stop media and other agencies and individuals from communalizing the COVID-19 crisis.
In response, the DGP filed a counter-affidavit before the division bench stating that so far, 159 cases have been registered against 356 people of whom 86 have been arrested.
Additionally, a non-governmental organisation, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind has filed a similar petition in the apex Court of India seeking orders against the media, which allegedly communalised the COVID-19 crisis. The top court has conducted several hearings on the petition. However, it is yet to come up with any effective order against alleged media organisations.
As per the report, Madurai tops the list with 19 cases followed by Erode (17) and Pudukottai (12). In Chennai, eight FIRs are registered against eight accused.
To oppose anti-muslim propaganda, some Muslim organisations in Tamil Nadu have also filed complaints in the police stations, identifying the hate posting on online media or airing on broadcast media. There were 700 such complaints filed in Tamil Nadu.
