Quarantine centres worse than detention camps: Assam MLA held for spreading canard

New Delhi: A legislator in Assam has been arrested for allegedly spreading canards and making provocative statement on the Coronavirus treatment, the police said.

Aminul Islam, the All India United Democratic Front (AIDUF) legislator from Dhing constituency, was taken into custody after preliminary interrogation, director-general of police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta told a news agency.

An audio clip containing telephonic conversation, purportedly between Islam and another person was circulated on social media in which the lawmaker was heard spreading false information about quarantine facilities and hospitals.
He allegedly said that the living conditions in quarantine centres were worse than those at the detention centres.

According to an HT report, Islam purportedly said there was a conspiracy to target Muslims on the pretext of Covid-19 and those sent to quarantine could be killed. However, it added that it could not independently verify the authenticity of the clips.

MLA booked under 4 sections of IPC

He was booked under IPC Sections 120b, 153a, 124a and 295a and would be produced in a court, the police said.

“The communal statements in the audio clip have the potential to cause enmity between two communities. The clip raises question marks on Government of India, Constitution and the secular fabrics of the country. There is a lot of wrong information in the clip,” Nagaon Superintendent of Police Gaurav Abhijit Dileep told journalists.

The SP said the MLA had admitted he made the audio, forwarded it to others and it was his voice.