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The news of the first case of coronavirus being found in Jharkhand’s Godda district carried by Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, has been found to be fake, reported Janchowk.com.
The Deputy Commissioner for Godda, Kiran Pasi, confirmed the same in a press statement and a tweet saying –
“This morning, a report has appeared in the Dainik Jagran newspaper (Jagran Team Bhagalpur / Dhanbad) that the first case of coronavirus has been found in Godda. This is completely baseless and misleading. No such case has been found in Godda where anyone has been found to be coronavirus positive.”
आज सुबह दैनिक जागरण के अखबार (जागरण टीम भागलपुर/धनबाद) में एक खबर छपी है की गोड्डा में मिला कोरोना का पहला मरीज यह खबर पूरी तरह से निराधार है भ्रामक है।गोड्डा में इस तरह का कोई मामला नहीं पाया गया है जिसमें किसी मरीज के कोरोना वायरस की पुष्टि हुई हो। @HemantSorenJMM @JharkhandCMO pic.twitter.com/doI5qVVVJD
— DC Godda (@dcgodda) April 23, 2020
The Chief Minister and Jharkhand police however have maintained their silence on the matter.
According to Janchowk.com, the report had only been published in Dainik Jagran and hadn’t appeared in any other newspaper or on any news channel on TV. It was when the residents of Godda read the news of the case in Dainik Jagran, they communicated with each other about the news by sharing it on social media to confirm its authenticity.
However, due to the front page presence of the news, discarding it as fake was not as easy. The headline was put up in bold and under that the report carried that the second coronavirus case was found in Santal and the patient had been admitted in Bhagalpur. The patient was said to be a resident of Godda’s Mehrma, a community development block in the district.
It was reported that the patient was actually a resident of Bhagalpur District’s Sanhoula Block who had returned from Mumbai and had been admitted at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital. He was confirmed to be Covid-19 positive on April 22, but he is a resident of Bhagalpur.
In reply to Pasi’s tweet, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha from Pakur said that the Dainik Jagran reporter was only trying to scare people and get them to panic, asking that an enquiry be instated in the matter.
माननीय मुख्यमंत्री श्री @HemantSorenJMM जी दैनिक जागरण का रिपोर्टर ने लोगों को डराने का काम कर रहा है जब गोड्डा में कोरोना का कोई मामला ही नहीं है तो इस तरह का खबर नहीं छापना चाहिए। इसमें रिपोर्टर पर कार्रवाई होनी चाहिए लोगो को पेनिक कर रहें है। @JharkhandPolice @goddapolice
— JMM Pakur (@JMM_Pakur) April 23, 2020
The Godda police too replied saying that they had taken cognisance of the matter and an investigation was being carried out.
आज सुबह दैनिक जागरण के अखबार (जागरण टीम भागलपुर/धनबाद) में एक खबर छपी है की गोड्डा में मिला कोरोना का पहला मरीज यह खबर पूरी तरह से निराधार है भ्रामक है।गोड्डा में इस तरह का कोई मामला नहीं पाया गया है जिसमें किसी मरीज के कोरोना वायरस की पुष्टि हुई हो। @HemantSorenJMM @JharkhandCMO pic.twitter.com/doI5qVVVJD
— DC Godda (@dcgodda) April 23, 2020
Under Section 505 (1) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, whoever by making, publishing or circulating any statement, rumour or report which may cause fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.
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