Software engineer held in Karnataka for 'call' to spread coronavirus

Bengaluru, Mar 27: A software engineer has been arrested for giving a "call" to the people to sneeze in the open and spread coronavirus, police said on Friday.

The person identified as Mujeeb Mohammad had made this call in a Facebook post. "Let's join hands, go out and sneeze with open mouth in public. Spread the virus," he wrote.

"The person who put this post saying people should go out and sneeze and spread the virus has been detained.

His name is Mujeeb. He works in a software company," Bengaluru Joint Commissioner of Police Sandeep Patil said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Infosys tweeted: "We are deeply concerned with an inappropriate post being attributed to an Infosys employee. We strongly reaffirm our commitment to responsible social-sharing.

The company also said, "Our preliminary enquiry, and discussions with our employees suggest that this could be a case of a mistaken identity."

"However, given the seriousness with which we take such matters, we are investigating this further and will also assist with any independent investigation. The company would take appropriate action based on its investigation," it added.