J&K Police to act against misuse of social media to incite violence

The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday said that it will act against the misuse of social media networks, which were allegedly being used to stoke violence in the valley.

"We have evidence whereby social media was used through VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) to tell militants to carry out attacks at certain places. On priority, we are targeting such misuse of social media," Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh told reporters here.

He said the Jammu and Kashmir administration had issued an order on January 14 banning the use of social media but the police was only going after those who were misusing it.

"We are sharing information (through WhatsApp) with you which means we know that you are using it. We are keeping a vigil on the use of social media and will act against those who misuse it," Singh said.

The DGP was responding to a question about the police spokesperson using WhatsApp to share press releases and send invitations for events including his press conference on Wednesday in spite of the ban on the use of social media.

"There have been several instances of misuse. For example, the driver of the truck which was carrying militants at Nagrota sent a photograph to his handlers in Pakistan the moment his vehicle was intercepted at the naka," he said.

"We have to differentiate between use and misuse... when someone misuses the social media, there will be no room for leniency. You should be thankful that you are able to use it," he added.

Inspector General of Police Kashmir Zone Vijay Kumar dismissed reports in some sections of media that 200 persons have been booked for using VPN.

"We have registered a general FIR. The report that 200 persons have been booked is absolutely wrong," Kumar said.