West Bengal Police forms core groups to deal with fake news on social media

The move comes after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee directed the police to take stringent measures against the circulation of "fake news" on social networking sites.

Key Highlights

• There were fake reports suggesting that curfew will be imposed in the nights of the five days of Durga Puja festivities mainly due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

• The police department has posted two additional sub-inspectors, having knowledge in computer science, at each of the cyber crime units.

• The teams will be working 24X7 to address the problem of fake news.

Kolkata: The West Bengal Police has formed separate core groups of police officers with expertise in cybercrime detection to deal with fake news menace, the state home department official said. The police department has posted two additional sub-inspectors, having knowledge in computer science, at each of the cyber crime units. Personnel who are experts in cybercrime detection will be given specialised training to sharpen their skills.

A senior official said that the core groups have been formed for each police unit, including the police districts. "The teams will be working 24X7 to address the problem. They will try to identify the origin of 'fake news' and stop the spread of the misinformation. After that they will inform the force about the source of the 'fake news' and take action as per legal provisions," he said.

The police officers will be working in six police commissionerates which includes Kolkata Police, 12 police districts and 16 district police divisions.

The move comes after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee directed the police to take stringent measures against the circulation of "fake news" on social networking sites. There were reports that suggested that curfew will be imposed in the nights of the five days of Durga Puja festivities mainly due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"A rumour regarding Durga Puja is being spread through WhatsApp. No such decision has been taken. Please do not forward this message. It's fake. Action is being taken," the West Bengal Police had said on Twitter.

Last week, the CM had said that a political party is spreading vicious rumours about Durga Puja, adding that the Trinamool Congress-led government so far has not had any meeting over it. The chief minister dared that if anyone could prove that the state government has said no to Durga Puja celebrations this year, she will do 101 sit-ups in front of people. 

“Prove that West Bengal government has said there will be no Durga Puja, I will do sit-ups in front of people 101 times,” CM Mamata Banerjee said.