FAKE MESSAGES: 40 SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS SUSPENDED

NEWDELHI: In the past week, Delhi Police got as many as 40 social media accounts suspended for allegedly fuelling the violence in north-east Delhi. The accounts were with websites like Twitter, Faceboook and Instagram.

Investigators said that these accounts were circulating fake images and videos to spread rumours and had been broadcasting messages to gather crowds in the riot-hit areas.

Till Sunday, Delhi Police’s cyber cell had registered 20 first information reports (FIRs) under the Information Technology Act. Officers said the number is expected to increase in the coming days.

900 DETAINED OR HELD

Over 900 people have been detained or arrested in connection with the violence.

However, police did not specify how many of them were because they had posted fake messages online. A senior police officer from the cyber cell, who did not wish to be named, said, “These accounts were sharing posts that were malicious and may have fuelled the violence in many affected areas. We have found that these accounts were also circulating false and fake images or videos spreading rumours related to violence-hit areas. We will enlarge these images and video screengrabs to identity the troublemakers.” The officer said police began writing to Twitter and Facebook last week on these suspected accounts, and said that the numbers are expected to increase in the coming week.

Delhi Police spokesperson additional commissioner of police (crime) MS Randhawa confirmed that the police did get in touch with the social media companies over accounts that were found to be provoking people to resort to violence.

Apart from this, the police have also gathered more than 1000 pictures and videos from social media accounts, WhatsApp groups and from local people which they are scanning to zero down on the perpetrators (source of the messages). The officer said investigations revealed that a majority of these accounts had been set up recently.