2 more held for Jayalalithaa health rumours

Two more persons, who allegedly circulated rumours on social networking sites on the health status of Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa, have been arrested, police said on Thursday. The police have warned of stern action against those spreading rumours on the health of Ms Jayalalitha, who is undergoing treatment at Apollo hospital here, and have registered 43 cases so far.

Already, two people had been arrested for spreading such rumours. Mani Selvam (28), a bank employee hailing from Ottapidaram Taluk, Tuticorin, and Bala Sundaram (42) from Pammal, Chennai, were the latest to be arrested by the central crime branch police, an official press release said.

Soon after Jayalalithaa was admitted to the Apollo Hospitals on September 22 after she complained of fever and dehydration, rumours were going on about her health on social networking sites including FaceBook and WhatsApp.

To end such rumours, police has formed a team comprising private cyber experts to keep watch on those spreading false information about the chief minister’s health.