Coronavirus: Mother-daughter face social boycott due to rumours

Rumours are spreading at an equal rate with that of coronavirus. A mother and her daughter have been facing social boycotting in Nadia district of West Bengal due to fake information on social media  

Despite their coronavirus test results turning out negative, two women in Nabadwip in West Bengal's Nadia district, alleged that the have been facing social boycotting for past few days. The women blamed a social media post, claiming that it caused them trouble. Following this, police arrested a young man for spreading rumours in this regard.

The women are identified as Sandhya Biswas, a resident of Sardar Para area of Nabadwip town, and her daughter Priyanka. According to locals, Priyanka went to her mother's house from her in-law's house in Bhaluka area of the town, 15 days ago. At that time, she had mild fever. A few days later, Priyanka's mother Sandhya also developed a fever. They both were suffering from cold and cough too.

Rumours spread in the area as soon as their condition became severe. The mother and daughter were rushed to the Nabadwip State General Hospital in a municipal ambulance by police. However, their physical examination did not show anything suspicious and later the COVID-19 test results also turned out negative.

They also recovered from fever and were released from hospital. However, their suffering did not go away. By then, fake news of Sandhya and Priyanka both being COVID-19 positive had spread in the area.

As a result, they were being harassed in markets and ration shops. Both of them work as daily wage labourers. But, allegedly due to the rumours, they have not been receiving any work for the last few days.

Sandhya lodged an FIR against a local youth named Akshaya Biswas at Nabadwip Police Station, accusing him of spreading rumours about them on Facebook. Police arrested him on Monday. The local councillor demanded severe punishment for the accused. He also assured the mother-daughter duo that they would not face boycotting anymore.