The Pune police have registered a case against an unidentified person for spreading rumours related to coronavirus through the social media platform WhatsApp.

Police Inspector (crime) Ganesh Mane said the case was registered on Sunday night at Koregaon Park police station under Indian Penal Code sections which included 182 (false information), 290 (punishment for public nuisance), along with sections 51(b) and 54 of Disaster Management Act, 2005.

The complaint in the matter was lodged by Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar, according to the police.

“The Divisional Commissioner got a text on WhatsApp that there were people travelling from other countries at a particular hotel in our jurisdiction. The message suggested that the people at the hotel were infected with the virus. The government machinery was deployed to check the place and they found nothing of the sort had happened,” said PI Mane.

The police are now looking for the source of the text message that was circulated.