Social media to blame for spontaneous crimes: UP police chief

Social media was to blame for sensational spontaneous crimes in Uttar Pradesh, Director General of Police (DGP) Jagmohan Yadav said on Thursday.

The police chief and Principal Secretary (Home) Devashish Panda, who were in Ghaziabad on Thursday, asked people, especially the minority community, not to desert the Greater Noida village of Bisara where a Muslim man was lynched to death over rumours of consuming beef and sacrificing a cow.

"The Greater Noida incident was a spontaneous one. We were shocked to know about the incident. But we have planned to control such types of incidents more effectively by our electronically controlled hi-tech control room," the police chief said.

Elaborating on the preventive measures being taken by police, Yadav said the high-tech control room, equipped with all forensic tools, was being set up to prevent unwanted social media posts.

"We have successfully investigated cases being posted on social media in violation of rules. To strengthen the effectiveness, skilled staff is being posted to monitor unwanted posts on social media," he said.

Yadav said the forensic report of the meat, over which the victim Akhlaque was lynched, was yet to come.

But the case was being investigated extensively to cover all possible angles - even if it was a political conspiracy in which the man was killed.

After a meeting with officers, the principal secretary and the police chief said at a press conference that police were trying hard to stop the exodus of the minority community from Bisara village.