Nagpur: 3 create fake COVID-19 audio clip to scare kin, held

Three persons were arrested for a fake audio clip claiming there were 59 COVID-19 patients in Nagpur, police said, adding that one of the accused confessed he did it to force his wife and kin to stay indoors. An official identified the accused as Jai alias Monu Omprakash Gupta (37), Amit Shivpal Pardhi (38) and Divyanshu Ramvilas Mishra (33).

"The audio clip created by the accused went viral on several WhatsApp groups here," said Joint Commissioner of Police Ravindra Kadam. "Gupta and Pardhi created the audio clip and forwarded it to Mishra on March 23. Mishra sent it to his wife to frighten her so that she stays indoors. However, Mishra's wife passed it on and it soon became viral. A case was registered on March 24 and we zeroed in on the three after checking over 400 mobile phone numbers," a Sadar police station official said.