Police have booked over 34 social media users on charges of spreading false news and rumours of bomb blasts in Dadu, an official said on Wednesday.

According to Dadu Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ameer Saud Magsi, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against the suspects under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) Act 2016, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com.

The spokesperson for the Dadu police said in a statement on Monday, “Unidentified miscreants are spreading false information with the wrong use of social media”, advising them to verify the information before sharing it.

SSP Magsi said that the police had only registered the case against 34 people. “Thirty raiding teams have been formed to arrest these suspects tonight,” he added.

“The false news and rumours had created panic in the city.”

Sharing false news without verification is also a crime under Section 20 of the Peca Act, the SSP said. He added that a letter was sent to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) ​authorities for further action.

The incident coincides with the latest wave of terrorism across the country, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

On Monday, the FIA arrested a suspect in Islamabad who was involved in an alleged “anti-state campaign” on social media over the Jaffar Express train attack.