Man arrested for posting fake news on FB about Parrikar’s death

In a late development, a 35-year-old person was arrested by the Goa Police Crime Branch on Wednesday night for posting fake news on Facebook about Chief Minister Parrikar’s death.

The accused Kenneth Silveira, a resident of Vasco town, located 35 km from Panaji, was picked up by the Crime Branch on Wednesday, a day after he posted the fake news about Parrikar’s demise.

“The accused is refusing to co-operate with the probe. Which is why he was booked under section 505 of the IPC and later arrested,” Superintendent of Police (CB) Karthik Kashyap told The Pioneer late on Wednesday.

Silveira in his post had said: “Just got news that Parrikar is no more”.

Even after the error was pointed out to Silveira, he had failed to delete the fake post.

The former Defence Minister was first hospitalised on February 15, after he complained of stomach pain, to the State Government-run Goa Medical College and Hospital, before being shifted to the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai. After a brief return to Goa and hospitalisation which lasted for nearly a week, Parrikar was moved to a New York based health facility in March, where he continues to undergo treatment, for what the Chief Minister’s Office has claimed, is a case of “mild pancreatitis”.

No official medical bulletin has been issued about the exact nature of Parrikar’s ailment. The BJP has maintained that Parrikar is well and responding to treatment.