KP cracks down on fake news, steps up watch
Kolkata:
Kolkata Police
stepped up its vigilance and crackdown on false and communally sensitive information, aimed at creating tensions, hours after CM Mamata Banerjee warned against
fake news
being spread in the wake of
Operation Sindoor
."Attempts
were made to spread panic at Eden Gardens on Wednesday with a bomb hoax, but police handled it," said an officer. A senior officer said the main cyber cell at Lalbazar and the STF cyber unit, along with the divisional cells, had been instructed to form teams to monitor social media and swiftly take down contents that might be "harmful to the social fabric".
The OC social media cell, a unit within the DD cyber cell, has been made the nodal officer. "Various inputs are being analysed and shared with central agencies," said an officer. Police have also issued directives to its force, intensifying vigilance across the city. All leaves of the personnel, except on medical grounds, have been cancelled for now. The top brass, through JCP (headquarters) Meeraj Khalid, on Wednesday as well as on Thursday, instructed cops to ensure increased presence at barracks and more night patrols. Among the directives are mandatory quick response to emergency calls to ensure
public safety
and a reassessment of security protocols in high-priority areas in Kolkata. "All officers must ensure their availability round the clock," said an officer. "We have been instructed to see to it that all forms of communication systems at our disposal are functional. We have been told to complete all necessary overhauls at the earliest," said an OC from a north Kolkata police station.
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