Punjab police has issued instructions to its staff to check social media of a person who has applied for a passport. The police justification behind this move is that some people, especially youth have fallen prey to glamour of gangsters or communal group and sometimes even radicals on social media like Facebook etc.

“The idea is not to intrude on anyone’s privacy. We have observed in many recent cases that the youth are getting in touch with criminals and even terrorists through social media. The police verification will focus on whether or not one is interacting with gangsters or terrorists or indulging in any unlawful activity,” said DGP Suresh Arora.

MPSingh

Human rights activist Navkiran Singh felt a check on social media was good. “If a person is displaying disturbing tendencies, it is the duty of the police to rein in such behaviour. A similar dangerous trend is about Punjabi songs which incite violence or eulogise drugs. Action needs to be taken against these singers and composers,” he said.

Advocate HS Phoolka, AAP MLA, said the move to check a person’s social media activity was discouraging. “Is the police going to question one’s character for holding an opinion? A person who is indulging in an unlawful activity should be penalised for it.”

He further said, “On one side, the Centre is pruning the ‘black list’ of alleged anti-social persons and saying everything is alright in Punjab and, on the other, the police are spreading paranoia about social media activities. I fear this will become a tool in the hands of the police to harass people, especially supporters of Opposition parties.”