Student detained for creating fake Twitter handle of Tripura CM, spreading rumour

A 16-year-old student was detained in Tripura for allegedly creating a Twitter account identical to that of Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and spreading rumours about imposition of lockdown in the state, police said on Wednesday.

The youth, a resident of Dhaleswar area here, is a class 10 student of a private English medium school.

Kishore Bhattacharya, the Officer-in-Charge at East Agartala Police Station, told reporters that the teenager had written a Twitter post on Tuesday, impersonating the chief minister, that the state government has decided to impose lockdown of seven days from July 24.

During interrogation, the student admitted that he had made a fake Twitter handle and spread the rumour, the police said.

Meanwhile, the student was produced before the Principal Magistrate of the Juvenile Justice Board here on Wednesday and was granted bail, his lawyer Raghunath Mukherjee said.

The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said that the Twitter handle was fake and that the government has not taken any decision about imposing lockdown from Friday.

West Tripura district Superintendent of police Manik Das said, "We have registered a specific criminal case against him."

The SP appealed to people not to indulge in rumour-mongering, saying anybody found doing so will be dealt with strictly.