Ahmedabad, Jan 17 (PTI) At least three persons were arrested for allegedly spreading rumours about stone pelting via social media in a locality in Ahmedabad city, a Cyber Crime Branch official said on Wednesday.

Police late Tuesday night received information that messages about stone pelting in Gupta Nagar locality in Vasana area are being circulated on WhatsApp by some unidentified persons, according to a release issued by Cyber Crime.

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However, this claim turned out to be false when Vasana police rushed to Gupta Nagar locality. Based on a complaint lodged by them, the city Cyber Crime Branch on Wednesday morning registered an FIR against unidentified persons for spreading rumours.

"Following an investigation, the Cyber Crime Branch nabbed three persons who had forwarded this message in different WhatsApp groups despite knowing that it was just a rumour," said police inspector BM Patel.

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They were booked under section 505(1)(b) of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with offences related to publishing or circulating any statement, rumour or report, with an intent to cause, or which is likely to cause fear or alarm to the public.

The three accused are identified as Auzef Tirmizi, Iqbal Ahmed Gotiwala, and Junaid Nilgar, all residents of Jamalpur area.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)