The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Sikkim Police have arrested two persons whose charges are different, but both of whom adopted fake Facebook accounts to carry out their alleged activities.

CID superintendent of police Tenzing Loden Lepcha told reporters in Gangtok on Tuesday that Rajesh Rai and Prakash Gurung, both from the Gnathang-Machong constituency in East Sikkim, were arrested on Monday evening.

Both have been remanded to four days of police custody.

While Rai has been booked under Section 153A of the IPC for promoting enmity between two communities, among others, Gurung has been charged with an attempt to outrage the modesty of woman under Section 354 of IPC and for electronically transmitting sexually explicit material under 67A of the Information Technology (IT) Act.

Lepcha said that Rai was arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged at the Gangtok Sadar police station on August 6, 2020, and Gurung on the basis of a complaint lodged with the CID on Monday.

Rai was accused of using a fake FB account in the name of Simran Gurung to spread communal hatred. Gurung also allegedly used a fake account in the name of Devika Chhetri to spread smut.

CID superintendent of police Lepcha added: “In the Simran Gurung case, there are four to five accused. Right now, we have been able to nab one… In the other case, there is only one accused.”