Karnataka Health Minister U T Khader directs DHO to file case against Ebola rumour

MANGALORE: Karnataka Health Minister U T Khader has asked the District Health Officer of Dakshina Kannada to lodge a complaint with the cyber cell police in Bangalore against persons spreading rumours on social media claiming Ebola virus had entered the city.

Some people had spread a WhatsApp message last month that a student had died at the National Institute of Technology, Karnataka (NITK) at Suratkal, near here, after being infected with the Ebola virus, even after the doctors treating him confirmed that he died of lung disease.

Khader directed DHO H S Shivakumar to file a complaint to bring to book the pranksters who misused technology to create panic and confusion, officials here said.

Both State and Central Governments had been working in unison to ensure that Ebola virus would not enter India. Adequate precautionary measures had been taken, they said.

People, who spread such rumours should understand the adverse effects it might have on the society, Khader said.

Stringent action would be taken against those who indulge in such practices through networking sites, he said.