A former MLA has been booked on the charge of fuelling rumours and triggering panic among the masses after the earthquake hit the state on Saturday.

Police said Dayanand Rai, the former MLA from Narpatganj in Araria district, had been booked under Section 505 (conducting mischief) of the Indian Penal Code. An FIR was lodged against Rai with the Secretariat police station on Sunday.

Soon after, Rai's cellphone was found switched off and his whereabouts were unknown. Repeated attempts by this correspondent to contact Rai for comments proved futile.

Patna city superintendent of police (central) Chandan Kumar Kushwaha said on Sunday that the case was instituted against the former legislator on the directive of the Patna district magistrate Abhay Kumar Singh after the latter got a message on his cellphone on Saturday.

The message uploaded and sent through WhatsApp mentioned that the people of the state would feel more tremors and that too of high magnitude on Saturday night. The message (mis)quoted the experts of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa).

The message originated from the former MLA's cellphone and was forwarded to hundreds of people connected through social networking sites. As a result, people hailing from different walks of life spent sleepless nights. Even cops had a tough time in dealing with rumour-mongering.

"Rumour-mongering is a cognisable offence and the offender may be liable for punishment up to three years or with fine or both," said a senior police officer, adding that efforts were on to locate Rai's whereabouts.

Sources said the former legislator was in Delhi on Saturday. "He was doing all these from Bihar Bhavan in Delhi," said an investigating officer, adding that a police team would leave for Delhi or native Araria, if required. He said Rai's name figured during investigation conducted by cyber crime experts.

"Appropriate action would be initiated against the offender," the investigating officer told The Telegraph.

The police swung into action and initiated steps to act tough against rumour-mongers after chief minister Nitish Kumar reviewed the rescue and relief operations being undertaken in affected districts. Nitish had also directed the director-general of police (DGP) P.K. Thakur to check the spread of rumours.

The DGP, in turn, had asked all superintendents of police (SPs) to act tough against rumour-mongers. Thakur was among the senior officials who attended the review meeting on Sunday, the day after the tragedy struck the state. The state police headquarters has asked the SPs to keep an eye over elements, who may try to aggravate the situation.