J&K cyber police register first FIR for misuse of social media
VARIOUS SOCIAL MEDIA USERS WERE BOOKED FOR ‘MISUSING’ SUCH PLATFORMS TO PROMOTE UNLAWFUL ACTIVITIES: POLICE
SRINAGAR: Amid a ban on social media sites, Jammu and Kashmir’s Cyber Police have registered an FIR against several persons for alleged misuse of social media platforms to promote unlawful activities, police said on Monday.
They said the Cyber Police Station Kashmir Zone in Srinagar have registered a case against various social media users who defied the government orders and misused these platforms.
“There have been continuous reports of misuse of social media sites by miscreants to propagate the secessionist ideology and to promote unlawful activities. Social media has remained a popular tool which largely provides anonymity to a user and also gives wide reach,” police spokesperson Manoj Kumar said.
In January, J&K administration issued an order banning all social media sites to “curb its misuse by miscreants for propagating false information/ rumours”. The ban was ordered to stall the rumour mongering and spreading false information having the effect of causing social instability, the spokesperson said
“The FIR has been registered while taking cognizance of the social media posts by the miscreants by using different virtual private networks(VPNs), which are propagating rumours with regard to the current security scenario of the Kashmir valley, propagating secessionist ideology and glorifying terror acts/ terrorists,” Kumar added.
Low speed mobile internet was restored in Kashmir last month after more than five months since the special status of J&K was revoked on August 5. The government allowed the service providers to give access to a few hundred white-listed websites while barring thousands of other sites including social media.
Police said a lot of incriminating material has also been seized regarding the misuse. “This is the first FIR registered in Cyber Police Station Kashmir Zone since its notification by the government,” he said.