The Gujarat Police on Tuesday (December 6) detained Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) national spokesperson Saket Gokhale over a tweet endorsing an alleged fake news about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Morbi after a bridge collapse incident there.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Cyber Crime, Jitendra Yadav said that the TMC leader was apprehended from Jaipur in Rajasthan during the early hours by officials of the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Cell.
“Based on a complaint we received from a citizen, an FIR has been lodged against Gokhale for spreading fake news about the PM’s visit to Morbi. We detained him from Jaipur today morning and he is being brought here for further legal process,” Yadav said, adding a formal arrest will be made after a COVID-19 test.
The police also said that an FIR was registered under Indian Penal Code Sections 465, 469, 471 (all for forgery) and 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory).
Gokhale had tweeted a news clipping which apparently appeared to have been published in a leading Gujarati newspaper. The news clipping claimed a query under the Right to Information (RTI) revealed the Gujarat government had spent Rs 30 crore on PM Modi’s visit to Morbi after a bridge collapsed there in October. The Morbi bridge tragedy had claimed over 130 lives.
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