Kozhikode: A Koyilandy native has been booked for sharing misinformation on the Nipah Virus. Chetyamkanty Anil Kumar from Peruvattoor near Koyilandy shared a link to a video posted by controversial naturopath Jacob Vadakkanchery on his YouTube channel.
Vadakkanchery uploaded a video on February 27, 2020, about the Nipah outbreak, which Anil Kumar recently shared on his Facebook page.
The accused has been charged under section 118(e) of the Kerala Police Act, which refers to a penalty on any person who "knowingly does any act which causes danger to public or failure in public safety" and section 505(1-d) of the Indian Penal Code, which is regarding penalty for publishing or circulating content "with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public".
As per reports, no action has been taken against Vadakkanchery, whose social media posts have been a subject of controversy for long.
In 2018, shortly after Nipah first emerged in the state, Vadakkanchery spread misinformation after the virus, claiming it was not caused by fruit bats but rather by pesticides.
Later, the Crime Branch arrested him from his clinic at Tripunithura for spreading fake news regarding leptospirosis, also called Rat Fever.
The state government had recently announced that stringent action will be taken against those who spread misinformation on Nipah, which has yet again emerged in Kerala.
All five confirmed cases – besides the index patient who was cremated before his sample could be tested – have been reported in Kozhikode, which was the epicentre of the initial Nipah outbreak in 2018.
