Male, July 1 : Maldives' main opposition party has named veteran lawmaker Ibrahim Mohamed Solih as its presidential candidate after former president Mohamed Nasheed withdrew his candidacy, authorities said on Sunday.

At a meeting held on Saturday, the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) amended its charter to award the party ticket to Solih, reports Xinhua news agency.

The MDP unanimously voted in favour of Solih as Nasheed's replacement.

On Friday, Nasheed withdrew his nominate for the "betterment" of his party.

He had applied to run for the election slated to take place on September 23 but his nomination was rejected by the Election Commission as he faces terrorism charges.

The Commission said last month that anyone convicted of a criminal offence could not legally contest in a political party's presidential primary, warning that such elections would be annulled.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Bengaluru (PTI): A day after a video of a man seen in a disoriented state went viral on social media with claims that he was under the influence of a so-called “zombie drug”, police on Friday arrested a 29-year-old employee of a private firm here for uploading the “misleading” video.

Hemanth, a resident of Vidyaranyapura, was issued a notice to join the inquiry, police said.

Learning that the police were looking for him, he posted an apology on social media. He was later taken into custody, a senior police officer said.

A case has been registered against him under Sections 353(2), relating to statements conducing to public mischief, including spreading false information or rumours that could incite public disorder, and Section 352, dealing with intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, among others, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police added.

After Hemanth uploaded the video, it quickly went viral on Thursday.

Later, police clarified that the man shown in a disoriented state in the video had not consumed any narcotic or psychotropic substance.

He was subjected to a medical examination, and the report confirmed that there was no trace of narcotic substances, Bengaluru police said.

The police also urged the public not to spread unverified or misleading information on social media platforms, as such content can create unnecessary panic and harm individuals’ reputations.

The footage, which circulated widely on social media, showed the man standing motionless. People claimed he might be under the influence of a synthetic “zombie drug” and raised concerns about its availability in the city.

An inquiry revealed that the individual seen in the video had come to Bengaluru in search of a livelihood and had been residing there for the past three months, police said, adding that further investigation is ongoing.

The police warned that strict action will be taken against persons found spreading false information or rumours.