Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope visits Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai on Sunday. (Express photo/Ganesh Shirsekar)

Police have registered a case against an unidentified person after Pune Divisional Commissioner Dr Deepak Mhaisekar received a hoax message about the presence of coronavirus patients, including foreigners, at a well-known hotel here.

Follow coronavirus LIVE updates here

On Saturday, a team of police was sent to the hotel after Mhaisekar received the message at around 9.40 pm. However, no coronavirus patients were found in the premises, following which a case was registered at Koregaon Park police station on Sunday.

Inspector Pramod Patki, who is in charge of the police station, said a probe is underway to identify and trace the person who sent the message.

“We have invoked Indian Penal Code sections for spreading false information, disobeying public order and causing public nuisance along with sections under the Disaster Management Act,” he said.

Recently, the district administration had warned of action against people found spreading rumours, misinformation or even details of the affected patients. The Cyber Crime cells of the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad police have also been keeping a close watch across various social media platforms.