The Kishtwar Police has tightened noose on the whatsapp misusers. The Police had recently got an order issued from the DM Kishtwar for proper registration & regulation of the various whatsapp groups in operation in the district. The Police has today issued notices to 21 Whatsapp Group Admins to get their groups registered immediately lest get ready to face legal action.
In the last couple of years there has been mushrooming of whatsapp groups in the district. There had been continuous reports of misuse of these whatsapp groups leading to the dissemination of such information having the potential of creating communal & other law & order situations. Besides, there was a trend of glorifying the terrorist acts in the valley by uploading the objectionable videos, audios & textual information.
The district Police Kishtwar collected details of the activities of the various whatsapp groups over the last three months. It was found that most of these groups are involved in spreading concocted stories, fake news, half baked information and rumors. Beside this many of the groups were used for uploading such unscrupulous information having the potential to create communal wedge. There was a rampant traffic of audio-visual & textual material in these groups glorifying the terrorist acts.
While divulging the details, the Senior Superintendent of Police Kishtwar Abrar Chowdhary said that the District Police Kishtwar after collecting a considerable date on the activities of the Whatsapp groups in the district came to the conclusion that many of these groups are being misused for dissemination of half-baked & unscrupulous information including rumors having potential to create law & order situations like communal wedge, social unrest etc., said the SSP.
Moreover by using these Whatsapp groups the anti-social and antinational individuals with criminal mindset transmit the videos, audios & textual material generated by the militants, overground workers of militants & the separatist elements to generate a sympathy for the antinational elements in the public and to glorify the terrorists and their activities among the youth & the teenagers. Besides, a number of elements were found involved in circulating in the Whatsapp groups the information related the terrorist acts and the encounters of the terrorists with the police & the security forces. The aim of circulation of such information by the criminal mindset was to generate public opinion in favour of militants & against the law enforcing agencies on one hand and to glorify the terrorists on the other hand, informed the SSP.
The district Police therefore submitted report to the District Magistrate Kishtwar with all the details of the misuse of the various social media platforms like Whatsapp, facebook, instragram etc., for doing the acts contrary to the law of the land. The Police requested the DM to issue an appropriate order for the proper registration & regulation of the social medial platforms especially the Whatsapp news & other groups operating in the district, said the SSP.
The District Magistrate Kishtwar Angrez Singh Rana as such issued a detailed order for the registration and regulation of the Whatsapp groups in the district with the instructions to the Whatsapp Group Admins to register their groups within 10 days.
So far only five groups have applied for the registration with District NIC Officer Kishtwar. Of these five, three are official & only 02 are private groups.
On the expiry of ten days today we have issued noticed to at least 21 Whatsapp Group Admins to immediately register their groups with the concerned quarters failing which the action under law shall be initiated against them in the event of anything done in these groups which is contrary to the law of the land, maintained the SSP Kishtwar. He further said that Police has already directed SHO Police Station Chatroo to initiate legal action against one Daawer Hussain Tapal of Mughalmaidain for doing acts contrary to law as participant in a whatsapp group operating with the name “THE BOLD VOICE.” The Admin of this group has also been issued notice to explain him position, said the SSP Chowdhary.
The Senior Superintendent of |Police Kishtwar has advised all the Whatsapp Group Admins & the participants not to do any act like dissemination of half- baked, wrong, unscrupulous information and rumors having potential of causing sicial unrest and law & order situations.
Henceforth police shall take cognizance under the procedure established by law in each single case of spreading the false and fake information or news or other rumours through whatsapp groups or individually or doing any act, by using social media platform, which is contrary to the law of the land, said the SSP. He said that the Kishtwar police has already registered three FIRs under section 505 RPC against different individuals in this regard. In case any such act of misuse of social media or any unlawful act through social media, the police shall take immediate action under the Ranbir Panel Code , Unlawful Activities (prevention) Act & IT Act, beside any other relevant provision of law in force at the time such act, informed the SSP Kishtwar.
