UP Police books ex-IAS for accusing Yogi govt of low COVID-19 testing

Uttar Pradesh police booked a former IAS officer on Thursday (June 11) after he questioned Yogi Adityanath-led government COVID-19 testing protocol on Twitter. The officer named Surya Pratap Singh, has now been booked under the Disaster Management Act and the Epidemic Act for allegedly spreading rumours about the COVID-19 pandemic.

The FIR came after the officer in a tweet, referred to allegations that the chief secretary of the state had threatened some of the district magistrates for conducting more COVID-19 tests.

The FIR was lodged at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow, and the IAS officer’s tweets have been labelled “misleading” as well as “mischievous”. It says that his tweets are creating confusion in the minds of people.

Singh, however, has defended his claims about the low testing rate in Uttar Pradesh, and said that he will continue to regularly question the government. He also pointed out that he had first received information of the FIR through the local media, and not by the UP police serving a copy to him.

This is not the first case during the COVID-19 lockdown that the UP police has taken action against anyone criticizing the state government over handling the pandemic. One of the most recent instances was when the police enquired a journalist for questioning the quality of PPE kits being sent to eight hospitals and medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh.