New Delhi, Mar 2 :
Delhi Police said on Monday they have arrested 24 people in connection with the rumour-mongering, which lead to panic in some parts of the Capital on Sunday, news agency ANI reported.
According to ANI, two people have been arrested from the Central district, 21 from the Northwest district and one from Rohini district. It said the force has also initiated action against 18 people and registered two cases.
Before this, Delhi Police had apprehended two suspects involved in rumour-mongering on Sunday.
The panic spread in some areas after the Capital had witnessed at least four days of deadly violence in the northeast region last week as armed mobs went on a rampage killing and destroying property in the area.
More than 40 people have been killed in the violence, which broke out in the northeast district of the capital.
The force was quick to refute the claims of violence and deny there was any unrest in the national capital in a series of tweets.
Several senior officers also issued statements as they blamed anti-social elements for misusing social media for spreading the rumours.
“Concerted efforts were made over the evening by mischievous and anti-social elements to create panic in Delhi by spreading false rumours of rioting over various social media platforms,” the special cell of Delhi Police said in a tweet.
The police said they were monitoring social media accounts involved in the act and said it would act against the guilty.
The rumour mongering had led to panicked residents calling up police helpline. They had also lead to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to briefly close seven Metro stations. The stations were later reopened.
Several leaders of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also denied any incident of violence and appealed people to remain calm.