WATCH: Nashik Man Arrested For Posting Video Of Him Licking Currency Notes Amid Covid-19 Threat

40-year old man from Malegaon in Maharashtra has been arrested by Nashik rural police after a TikTok video that showed him wiping his nose and licking currency notes.

Image: Twitter

New Delhi: A 40-year old man from Malegaon in Maharashtra has been arrested by Nashik rural police after a TikTok video that showed him wiping his nose and licking currency notes, amid the spread of coronavirus in the country. In the video, the man is licking the notes and making objectionable religious comments. After the video went viral, the cybercrime police became aware of the content and traced the location from where the video was created. The Nashik rural police then arrested the accused under sections 153 for hurting religious sentiments and section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. The accused will be taken to the courts.

Lawful action has been taken against the accuse by Nashik Rural Police (Maharashtra) & he is in Police Custody.@invinciblearti@KS16779951#coronavirus https://t.co/pX62vziQVz

— NASHIK RURAL POLICE (@SPNashikRural) April 2, 2020

The highly contagious coronavirus is a respiratory virus that spreads through droplets from the nose and mouth of an infected person especially when they cough or sneeze. It can also be spread by touching surfaces that may harbour the virus after droplets from an infected person lands on it. To prevent the infection, it is important to stay more than 1 meter away from a person who is sick, wash hands regularly, and avoid touching your face. It is not clear yet if the man in the video is infected by the virus. Maharashtra is one of the hotspots for COVID-19 in India with over 423 cases as of April 3, 2020. Recently reports indicated that the virus may have spread to Mumbai’s Dharavi area when 35-year-old doctor tested positive for the coronavirus. To fight the increasing number of cases the government has launched a digital platform where people can do self-assessment to check if they have contracted the infection. If they are doubtful of their condition, they can then proceed to inform authorities. The Maharashtra government has also been allowed to do rapid testing of COVID-19 by using blood samples instead of swabs after PM Modi’s press conference with chief ministers from every state.