The Dehradun police have registered a first information report against three Facebook page administrators for posting allegedly false claims that the Uttarakhand chief minister was going to be replaced, The Indian Express reported.

The claims were allegedly circulated by the Facebook pages named “I Love My Uttarakhand Sanskriti”, “Uttarakhand Wale” and “Janata Jan Andolan Irritated”, ANI reported.

The cases were registered on Saturday night based on a complaint by Siddhartha Agarwal, the Dehradun district president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The chief minister’s office said that at a time when districts such as Bageshwar, Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Pithoragarh are facing disasters, “spreading false news about a change of chief minister not only disrupts relief and rescue operations but also affects government functioning and administrative arrangements”, The Indian Express reported.

Heavy rains and a series of cloudbursts have triggered flash floods across several districts in the state, leaving many dead and several missing.

“A clear warning is also issued to the social media mischief-makers that spreading rumours or posting misleading content will invite strict legal action,” The Indian Express quoted the chief minister’s office as saying. “The state police is keeping a constant vigil on social media.”

Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Ajai Singh told the newspaper that the FIR was registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita pertaining to intent to cause fear or alarm to the public and circulating false information with intent to promote enmity or hatred between communities.

A section of the Disaster Management Act, pertaining to making or circulating false alarm or warning about a disaster or its severity and causing panic, was also invoked.

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