Punjab Police launches 'Fake Di Khair Nahi' campaign to control rumours about Coronavirus

In an initiative to keep a check on the spread of fake news about Coronavirus, the Punjab Police on Monday launched a social media campaign called 'Fake Di Khair Nahi'. According to reports, the campaign is aimed to control the rumour-mongering and educate people about the laws and sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that can be invoked to punish the fake news peddlers. Along with it, the campaign allows people to participate and fact-check any information and inform the police. 

A press statement issued by the Punjab Police read, "The force is making the best use of platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, Sharechat to inform people that fake news peddlers are liable to jail for one month to seven years or fined if any incorrect information shared by them creates public disorder or threaten anyone's life, health or property or creates a situation of riots." The statement further read that the police is intending to curb the panic in public that is being spread by people sharing sensational and fake news on the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Meanwhile, the State police have created 21 open jails to book the violators under the Disaster Management Act. Currently, there are 79 positive cases of Coronavirus in Punjab, out of which four have been reported to be recovered. Further, seven people have been reported to be dead in the State due to the virus. 

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Coronavirus crisis in India

According to the latest update of the Health Ministry, there are 4,281 cases in the country including 3,851 active cases. While 111 deaths have been reported overall, around 319 people have been cured/discharged/migrated. Currently, the highest number of cases have been reported from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

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In order to tackle the crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 had announced a 21-day lockdown in the entire country effective from midnight of March 25 to deal with the spread of coronavirus, saying that "social distancing" is the only option to deal with the disease, which spreads rapidly. Meanwhile, PM Modi has also established a dedicated national fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide relief to the affected, a public charitable trust under the name of ‘Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund’ (PM CARES Fund).

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(With ANI Inputs)