Wary of the posts on social networking sites, Delhi Police is soon going to come out with a separate cyber unit to monitor the content of various social media websites in an effort to monitor provocative posts and take preventive steps to check any negative fallout. This step comes in the wake of the murder of a Pune-based techie Mohsin Sadiq Sheikh by the activist of a right wing organisation. The murder was triggered by certain posts by the techie about late Shiv Sena behemoth Bal Thackeray.
“At a time when the atmosphere is surcharged, hate crime has to be prevented,” said a senior Delhi Police officer. The social networking sites will be closely watched and immediate action will follow to prevent any misadventure, the official added. The monitoring will not be intrusive in nature and it will monitor openly available content related to the Capital. Under the new programme, police will monitor content on Facebook and Twitter. The idea behind this project is that it will raise “red flags” over any inflammatory postings, which might have bearing over the law and order situation of the city. The centre, which will come into existence in three to four months, will have a server and Government-approved software will be bought for it.
The official said london Police had set up a similar monitoring centre after riots ravaged the city in 2011 during which it was widely believed that rioters used social media to communicate and plan attacks.