After gangsters and criminals in Punjab took to social media platforms like Facebook to boast about their crimes, the Punjab police have decided to buckle up in order to tackle them in the cyber world.
The Punjab Police has decided to become active on the social media platforms in order to nab these gangsters and also curb the free run of the criminals.
According to the IANS, Punjab's Director General of Police (DGP) Suresh Arora had recently admitted that 57 gangs were active in the state.
Police officers have also admitted that criminals and gangsters were using the social media to "glamourise" their crimes through updates.
Police counter attack
DGP Arora said the Punjab Police will increase their presence on the social media.
"The police will set up its own Facebook and other social media handles to nullify all such rumours. This will be a proactive approach to tackle the hate spread online," Arora told IANS.
The security personnel have also planned to hire experts to help the Punjab police get a stronghold over the social media platforms.
"The need to hire an expert agency was felt in view of the huge penetration of social media into the minds of the young and professionals and the importance of these media in disseminating information," Arora added.
Besides Facebook, the police will also be actively engaged in WhatsApp and Facebook.
Crimes glamourised
In a recent incident in February, gangsters Devinder Singh and his accomplices shot dead a 25-year-old financier in Longowal town in Sangrur district in the broad daylight. However, instead of fleeing the scene, he danced over the victim's body and even uploaded four videos to declare that he had murdered the financier. He shared the crime footage on the internet as he wanted to throw an open challenge at his opponents and the Punjab Police.
Such videos have received numerous likes from the youth in Punjab, who also extensively share these posts of the criminals.
Another criminal Vicky Gounder, who is involved in more than 15 cases of murder and robbery, is an active Facebook user. He regularly posts updates of his crime and also clears his name from crimes he is not involved in. He also has multiple accounts on Facebook. Reports state that one of his accounts has 32,000 followers.
