Counter social media misuse: Capt to cops

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday issued directions to the state police and the intelligence agencies to go all out to counter the increasing misuse of social media to spread hate campaigns in the state. The CM, who held ameeting to review law and order in the state, also ordered stern steps to break the nexus between terrorists and gangsters, as well as between gangsters and jail staff, to prevent use of prisons by gangsters to carry out their nefarious operations.

He also took serious note of reports of some gangsters operating from prisons, asking the authorities to undertake strict monitoring of jails. The home department was also directed to take immediate steps to fill vacancies in state prisons.

“There is a need to instil the fear of the law to ensure that the state’s peace and harmony is maintained at all costs,” he said. Besides senior police and administrative officials, ministers Navjot Singh Sidhu, Manpreet Singh Badal and Tript Bajwa were also present at the meeting.

Expressing concern over the recent killing of a Hindu Shiv Se na leader in Amritsar, Am arin der ordered the police to expedite investigation into the case.

The police officials assured the chief minister that the culprits, who had already been identified, would be caught soon, according to an official spokesperson. He also instructed security agencies to adopt overt and covert measures to effectively counter the online hate campaign by Pakistan’s ISI and the communal tirade being launched by a section of the hard line Hindus against the Sikh community and vice versa.

There was a clear bid to revive terrorism in the state, which could be traced to foreign handle rs not justin Pakistan but also in other countries such as Canada, Germany, theUAE, Belgium, SouthAfrica, Portugaland Saudi Arabia,” the CM was informed at the meeting, which took stock of the steps being taken by the security forces to curb the spread of divisive and communal forces.

Director general of police (DGP) Suresh Arora informed that since March 2017, seven terror modules had been bus ted and 43 terrorists and radical operatives arrested by the state police.

The police had identified 16 foreign handlers affiliated to various militant outfits to be involved in terror operations so far, and as many as 38 weapons, including those pushed into India by Pakistan’s ISI, had been seized.

DGP, intelligence, Dinkar Gupta, DGP, law and order HS Dhillon, DGP, administration MK Tewari, DGP, jails, IPS Sahota, ADGP, crime, Pramod Kumar, IG, personnel, V Neerja, IGP, crime Shashi Prabha, ADGP and STF chief HS Sidhu were among those present.

CM APPRISED BY INTEL AGENCIES OF CLEAR BID TO REVIVE TERRORISM IN THE STATE, WHICH COULD BE TRACED TO FOREIGN HANDLERS NOT JUST IN PAK, BUT ALSO IN OTHER COUNTRIES