'Tweet responsibly', DGP says 'do not participate in spreading rumours'

The Bengal Police on Wednesday cautioned against spreading rumours on social media that could "disturb" communal harmony.

The directive came a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that communal violence broke out in North 24-Parganas district following a Facebook post. "Responsible people must tweet responsibly, not with the aim of spreading rumours & disturbing communal harmony. Don't spread any rumour. Administration is taking full care to maintain peace and harmony," the West Bengal Police said on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Surajit Kar Purakayastha, Director General of Police, urged people not to share or like posts in social networking sites that are posted with an attempt to affect the peace and harmony.

He said: "We are finding that some anti-social elements are trying to destabilise the communal harmony in some parts of the state by spreading rumours through social networking sites. Another thing that we have noticed is that some objectionable objects were being thrown at religious places to create trouble. Attempts are being made to create an atmosphere of unrest in some pockets here. Specially, some posts in social media create differences among people and affect the communal harmony."

He further said: "It is my request to people not to share or like these posts. It is also the responsibility of the people who are sharing or liking the same on social media."

Purakayastha also maintained: "Today we are finding disturbances in some pockets due to these reasons. The administration is taking necessary steps at those sensitive places. It is my request to you all to help the administration so that the peace, harmony and unity among people, which is the uniqueness of Bengal, are maintained." Besides taking necessary measures to maintain peace and harmony, the state police have initiated a campaign on social media urging people not to get swayed by rumour.

The state police have both tweeted and posted on Facebook on Wednesday morning requesting people not to post anything on social networking sites that would disturb communal harmony. According to a senior police officer, now most people can access social networking sites from their mobile phones. And understandably, social media plays a crucial role in spreading awareness among the masses. "We can easily reach to lakhs of them within a fraction of a second by posting something on social networking sites. Moreover, the number of viewers increases when the same post is shared or liked by others. So, besides taking necessary steps to bring the situation under control, the police have also posted on social networking sites," the officer said adding that they are hopeful that their post will leave an impact and people will think twice before tweeting or posting something on Facebook. The police are also keeping a close watch on social networking sites whether anyone is posting or tweeting something with an aim to disturb the communal harmony in the state by spreading rumours. Stringent measures would be taken if anyone is found making such an attempt. This is not the first time when the police have taken help of social media to reach out to the masses. Earlier, on different occasions mainly to make people aware about the state wide "Safe Drive Save Life" campaign, police had used the social media. In a bid to make people aware about the recent cyberattacks too, the police had taken up campaigns through social media so that people could take necessary measures to avoid such situations.