Vadodara: Hoax letter about 2 coronavirus infected students sparks panic at Parul University

VADODARA: With memes and videos on coronavirus flooding social media platforms, the creativity, however, is proving to be destructive as it is creating havoc for some people.
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A forged letter of Parul University (PU) circulated on WhatsApp saying that two of its students were infected with coronavirus and asking others to take care has caused panic in the varsity.The letter also contained names of two students which added to the frenzy.
The university administration has submitted an application to Vadodara rural police to register an offence against the unidentified miscreant. However, the police are yet to act on the application.
"The letter on the forged letterhead had been circulated widely. I received several calls regarding it. However, I would like to assure that the letter is fake and all students of the university are safe," said president of the university, Dr Devanshu Patel.
"We have given an application to Waghodia police station to register a complaint because this is a serious issue," Patel added.
On being contacted by TOI, police said that the investigation in the case is going on. "The probe is still on as we are trying to ascertain the source of the original message. However, we will be registering an FIR on Friday," said A G Parmar, sub-inspector of Waghodia police station.
He added that the university has been closed till March 29 as directed by the state government to all educational institutions.
Police sources said that an offence of forgery, violation of Information Technology Act will be registered and after proper deliberation the Epidemic Diseases Act might also be invoked.