MANGALURU: Even as the probe into the two murder cases- Praveen Nettaru and Mahammed Fazil is gaining momentum, the police department is keeping a close watch on social media.
Speaking on the sidelines of the peace committee meeting held on Saturday, Congress leader Mithun Rai said that social media is the cause for several untoward incidents, including the spread of hatred in society. As soon as an unfortunate incident is reported, there are instances of fake news spreading on social media. Hence, we demanded a ban on social media for the next two days. We have seen several provocative posts after the murders, he said.
ADGP (Law and Order) Alok Kumar said social media monitoring is being done and necessary legal action will be taken. Legal action against false news spreaders in the form of 107 CrPC will be undertaken and they will be sent to judicial custody if there is a violation, he said.
Meanwhile, City police commissioner N Shashi Kumar appealed to everybody to be responsible when using social media. The priority of the police right now is to ensure that the case is cracked and the law and order situation is restored. "Let nobody be under the impression that they are not being watched. About eight personnel are constantly watching every post which is offensive, objectionable and which is in contradiction to the normal usage rules of social media. We are collecting their social media ids, account details, and phone details. It is just a matter of time that cases will be booked and they will be made to run around the court," he said.
Shashi Kumar said, disconnecting the internet connectivity would cause trouble for the common man. Already with prohibitory orders under IPC Section 144, and restrictions after 6 pm, common people who are nowhere connected to these incidents are being troubled. We do not want to trouble the common man by banning the internet, he added.
