FIR against daily for ‘false’ report

nGUWAHATI: The Assam government has started taking action against people allegedly spreading misinformation on Covid-19 on social media and also against news organisations airing or publishing unverified news articles about the infectious disease.

On Sunday, the information and public relations department of the Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp)-led government filed an FIR against Jugasanka, a Bengali-language daily published from

Silchar, for carrying an alleged “false news report” about the state’s first Covid-19 patient.

While the patient is still admitted to the Silchar Medical College Hospital, the report mentioned that he was cured. It said the second test carried on the patient was found negative. “According to doctors, the news item is completely baseless and the patient has not recovered yet,” said the FIR lodged by Sajjadul Hoque Choudhury, district’s information and public relations officer.

The case was lodged against the reporter and the publisher of the newspaper under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (disobedience of orders duly promulgated by a public servant) and provisions of the Assam Covid-19 Regulation, 2020.

“There was some confusion about the name of the Covid-19 patient admitted to Silchar Medical College, and another patient with a similar name was admitted for another disease...there was no ill intention behind it. We had already carried a corrigendum on the front page of the paper on April 5,” said Chinmoy Kumar Das, the editor of Jugasanka.