Lucknow: To quell the rumours spread on social media platforms, Uttar Pradesh police are planning to recruit ‘digital volunteers’ at every police station. From retired servicemen to students and religious leaders, people active on social media will be eligible to be the digital volunteers.
There are some 1469 police stations across the state. At least two volunteers will be attached to each one of those stations and will be responsible for keeping the cops updated with rumours on social media for timely action.
The digital volunteers will be screened and short-listed by a committee headed by the district police chief comprising additional SPs, circle officers and in-charge of the police stations.
“This initiative will provide us a force of over 3.5 lakh volunteers across the state who will be first briefed about their desired role and responsibility towards the society,” Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, OP Singh said.
The volunteers are expected to keep a watch on circulation of text, photographs or videos which have the potential of vitiating the communal harmony, and inform the local police station about it, OP Singh added.
Welcoming the initiative taken to curb rumour-mongering, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi said, “Today rumour mongering is prevalent on social media and it needs to be monitored and controlled. If the government takes any initiative to check fake news, we have no objection to it.”
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