Brother-sister duo booked for threatening to 'spread' coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh

Police have registered a case against a 27-year-old woman and her younger brother, both COVID-19 patients, for allegedly threatening to "spread" the deadly infection in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh, an official said on Saturday.

The case was registered at Kotwali Police Station at Khargone on Friday, after a video in which the woman purportedly gave the threat went viral on social media. The video was shot by her brother, the official said.

However, after the case was registered against them, the woman posted a fresh video in which she said that the previous video was shot out of "frustration and anger" as some reporters were creating trouble for her father, who has also tested coronavirus positive.

Kotwali Police Station in-charge, Lalit Singh Dagur, said that the woman and her a 21-year old brother, who have returned from China after studying medicine there, were booked for posting the video, in which she threatened to spread coronavirus in Khargone.

According to police, the parents of the brother-sister duo have also tested coronavirus positive and undergoing treatment.

According to police, the video was shot when the brother-sister duo was being taken to an isolation centre in an ambulance on Wednesday.

The case was registered against the duo under IPC sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), and provisions of the Disaster Management Act, Dagur said.

In the second video, the woman said that she and her brother were doctors and they had no intention of spreading coronavirus.

"We went for the tests on our own when saw the symptoms. We are doctors and know what to do. It was not our intention...I was frustrated due to reporters...you have seen what they have reported. They are publishing useless news since my father tested positive. My father is critical..., the woman said in the new video.

In the video, she is also heard urged people not to circulate her previous video.