Postcard News founder Mahesh Vikram Hegde arrested by Bengaluru Crime Branch for spreading fake news

The Bengaluru Crime Branch has arrested Mahesh Vikram Hegde, founder of Postcard News, for spreading fake news which said that a group of Muslims attacked a Jain monk, according to media reports. [caption id=“attachment_2869294” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] The arrest was made after a case was registered against him at Cyber Crime Police Station in Bengaluru. He was booked under Section 66 of the the Information Technology Act and under Sections 153A of the IPC, Outlook reported. He is expected to be produced before a magistrate shortly, the report added. According to The News Minute, Postcard News had published a status message on 13 March on social media stating that a Jain monk who had come for the Shravanabelagola festival was attacked by Muslim youth. A police official was quoted by the report as saying, ““Yes, it is true, he was arrested based on the Jain muni post. The Jain muni was hit by a car while he was walking on the road. He was not hit by Muslim youths as claimed by Hegde”. In November 2017, an FIR had been filed against the administrators of Postcard News for an alleged derogatory post, AltNews reported. Interestingly, Hegde is also followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter According to officials, the fake news could be an attempt to communalise the atmosphere ahead of the Assembly elections in May, News18 reported.