Minister's morphed tweet escalates Assam Covid figure; police asked to take steps

Assam Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has asked the Assam police to file an FIR against the person who posted a morphed tweet in his name. The tweet, appearing to have been posted by Sarma, showed escalated numbers of COVID-19 cases in the state.

Guwahati: Assam Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday asked police to register an FIR against the person who posted a fake tweet in his name, escalating the number of COVID-19 cases in the state.

The tweet appeared to have been posted by Sarma but the minister said his Twitter account has not been hacked.

• I have noted with deep concern an altered / morphed screenshot of my tweet - where the numbers have been changed.
  
  Asking @assampolice to immediately file an FIR and investigate @DGPAssamPolice pic.twitter.com/2saVAzctGK

  — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) May 11, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  I have noted with deep concern an altered / morphed screenshot of my tweet - where the numbers have been changed.
  
  Asking @assampolice to immediately file an FIR and investigate @DGPAssamPolice pic.twitter.com/2saVAzctGK

  — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) May 11, 2020

  ">

  I have noted with deep concern an altered / morphed screenshot of my tweet - where the numbers have been changed.
  
  Asking @assampolice to immediately file an FIR and investigate @DGPAssamPolice pic.twitter.com/2saVAzctGK

  — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) May 11, 2020

"I have noted with deep concern an altered / morphed screenshot of my tweet - where the numbers have been changed. Asking @assampolice to immediately file an FIR and investigate @DGPAssamPolice," Sarma tweeted.

A screenshot of the fake tweet was circulated in various media groups of journalists in Assam.

When it was brought to Sarma's notice, he said, "I have not tweeted any such thing from my account. It's a graphic. My account is not hacked."

Sarma is also the finance minister of Assam and the convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), the NDAs version in the region.

As per the bulletin issued by the state health and family welfare department on Sunday night, Assam has 62 positive cases, of which 26 are active and two have died. The remaining 34 have recovered and were discharged from hospitals.

The morphed tweet stated that eight more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the state, taking the tally to 70.

It also claimed that all these new cases were linked to a bus that brought people from Rajasthan to the state.

PTI