Srinagar, Jun 18 (PTI) A man has been arrested for allegedly spreading misinformation on social media about the involvement of a member of the minority community in a recent encounter between security forces and militants, police said on Friday.

Addressing a press conference here, SSP Srinagar, Sandeep Chaudhary said the accused had put the life of the victim in danger by “spreading misinformation” regarding his involvement in the encounter that took place on June 16 at Nowgam here in which a Lashkar-e-Toiba militant was killed.

“We noticed that on social media, an account by the name of Urwa Andrabi on Facebook and Sana Nazki on Twitter, made allegations against a private medical shop owner - who is a member of a minority community in Srinagar -- that this person had connections with the operation (encounter),” the SSP said.

He said the police based on its information and through its interactions with the civil society guarantees that the victim's family has no involvement in any anti-terror activities.

“After investigating the handles, a person identified as 34-year-old Samiulllah Chlaroo, a resident of the Chhattabal area of Srinagar, was arrested,” Chaudhary said.

The SSP said the accused had created various fake social media posts from time to time to peddle incorrect information.

“We took immediate cognizance of the matter as it was very serious. An FIR was registered and the investigation was done on the basis of which the person was arrested,” he said.

The police warned people against putting others' lives at risk by posting fake information on social media.

“This kind of irresponsible activity on social media can easily put someone's life in danger. We have tools and investigative skills to reach such wrong-doers even if they are anonymous. Such tendencies under the garb of anonymity on social media should be avoided,” the SSP added.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)