West Bengal Police forms separate groups to deal with fake news menace

West Bengal Police has formed separate core groups of police officers with expertise in cybercrime detection to deal with the menace of circulation of "fake news", a senior official said

The West Bengal Police has

formed separate core groups of police officers with expertise in cybercrime detection to deal with the menace of circulation of "fake news", a senior official of the state home department said on Monday.

The core groups have been formed for each police unit, including the police districts, he said.

"The teams will be working 24X7 to address the problem. They will try to identify the origin of 'fake news' and stop the spread of the misinformation. After that they will inform the force about the source of the 'fake news' and take action as per legal provisions," he said.

The officers will be working in six police commissionerates, including Kolkata Police, 12 police districts and 16 district police divisions, he said.

Police personnel who are experts in cybercrime detection will be provided specialised training to sharpen their skills, the official said.

The police department has recently posted two additional sub-inspectors, having knowledge in computer science, at each of the cyber crime units.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had last week directed the police to take stringent measures against the circulation of "fake news" on social networking sites which suggested that curfew will be imposed in the nights of the five days of Durga Puja festivities mainly due to COVID-19 situation.

West Bengal Police had tweeted, "A rumour regarding Durga Puja is being spread through WhatsApp. No such decision has been taken. Please do not forward this message. It's fake. Action is being taken".