In a move aimed at damage control, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has instructed police to take action against those who incite communal violence on social media.
“I have instructed the police to take suo motu action against provocative posts on social media that are intended to create communal problems and disturb the peace in society,” Siddaramaiah said after the meeting.
“The police have been asked to take action irrespective of the community of the individuals (involved),” he said as per The New Indian Express.
The crackdown on communal forces in the state extends even on the ground with the State Intelligence recruiting police police personnel specifically to contain communal violence in the state.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is keen to strengthen the State Intelligence before elections as he believes that it failed to contain violence in Mangaluru and surrounding areas.
“I will not say that the police are 100% right and intelligence has been great. There are lapses, but they have been identified and will be rectified effectively,” Siddaramaiah said as per The Hindu.
The CM’s statements come against the backdrop of three cases of harassment in the last two weeks. Madhuri Bolar and Bharathi Prashanth, residents of Dakshina Kannada, were abused and intimidated over WhatsApp and Facebook while a similar kind of harassment proved fatal for Dhanyashree, a resident of Mudigere in Chikkamagaluru.
Dhanyashree (20) committed suicide on January 7 and the police have identified that a member of the Bajrang Dal had harassed her over WhatsApp creating aspersions about the woman’s relationship with a Muslim.
Incidents of communal violence in Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada in recent months have also been fuelled by rumours spreading on social media.
In the aftermath of the death of Paresh Mesta, a 19-year-old from Uttara Kannada, violence erupted in the district after images of Mesta’s blackened face were circulated on WhatsApp. Doctors who conducted the post-mortem later clarified that he was not assaulted and that the darkening of the face was natural.