Retired UP cadre cop booked for ‘misinformation’ on Yogi government’s COVID strategy

Shahira Naim
Tribune News Service
Lucknow, June 12

An Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer who took voluntary retirement four years ago has been booked for allegedly posting ‘misinformation’ on a social media platform relating to the state government’s efforts to deal with COVID-19 situation.

The case against Surya Pratap Singh, a 1982 batch officer, was registered at the Hazratganj police station on the complaint filed by Subhash Singh, a police outpost in charge at the secretariat.

The complainant mentioned in the FIR that the former bureaucrat had posted some content that is inaccurate and insulting to the state government.

In a series of tweets, Singh had said that a senior bureaucrat after a meeting with the chief minister had scolded district magistrates and asked them to go slow on testing samples for COVID-19 saying that it would not win them additional brownie points.

“Is no test= no corona Uttar Pradesh’s strategy” he has asked.

Singh questioning the government’s strategy of reportedly keeping the number of tests low to show low occurrence of Covid-19 has earned him the wrath of the state government.

Assistant Commissioner of police (ACP) Hazratganj Abhay Mishra said: “The former IAS officer has been booked under various sections for disobeying government orders, crime committed with intent to cause fear or alarm to the public, conducting public mischief, statement intent to cause fear and alarm among the residents who may be induced to commit offence against the state and public tranquility, disobeying public servant orders. Besides, sections of the Disaster Management Act and Epidemic Disease Act have also been included”.

Mishra also said that the cyber-cell of the police will also assist the Hazratganj police in the case and relevant sections of the IT Act would be included after the probe.

Meanwhile, reacting to the government’s decision Singh in a tweet said that he was waiting for the police to arrest him.

“Hiding the numbers of Corona cases would help neither the Yogi Adityanath government nor the state and the government. Registering a case against me for my demanding more tests is a violation of my fundamental rights”, he said in a tweet.

“As an IAS officer I had launched a campaign against the previous Akhilesh Yadav government. Then senior leaders of the BJP appreciated me and Akhilesh Yadav never took the criticism personally. The action of those who speak of “freedom of expression” has shocked and stunned me,” he said.