Pak chips in to create trouble in Doda provoking locals
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 14: Pakistan tried to stoke trouble in Doda district as soon as AAP MLA Mehraj Malik was detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) with many accounts operating from the neighbouring country on Facebook, X and Instagram provoking the people by showing morphed images to hit the streets and went to the extent of calling them to burn Kathua jail where the MLA was lodged.
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Some handlers within the country as well as Jammu and Kashmir also fell to the propaganda but IT teams of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts worked hard and were able to identify many of them and asked concerned Police Stations to lodge First Information Reports (FIRs) against them.
As many as 300 Social Media accounts were blocked by IT Cells of three districts in just three days and issues were taken up with police and Intelligence agencies for action.
`”Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban police detected that several Social Media accounts, later traced to Pakistan, with large following became active in the three districts within hours of the arrest of Mehraj Malik under PSA and started provoking the locals and others with messages which were far from reality and morphed images of protests etc,” sources told the Excelsior.
The Pakistani accounts were provoking the people especially from Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts using various propaganda materials and asking them to hit the streets to protest the MLA’s detention. Some of the accounts, whose texts have been saved by the IT teams of police, even provoked the people to storm and torch District Jail Kathua where the MLA was lodged after his detention under the PSA.
Simultaneously, certain Social Media accounts in Jammu and Kashmir as well as other parts of the country also became active and unleashed unhealthy and unsubstantiated propaganda on the arrest of Mehraj Malik.
“The Social Media accounts which were operating within Jammu and Kashmir were immediately identified by the IT teams of police and concerned Police Stations were asked to legally proceed against them,” the sources said, adding that for rest of the accounts which were operating from Pakistan and some other parts of India, police have written to X, Facebook and Instagram seeking that the accounts be blocked.
Sources said sufficient material has been provided to Social Media companies to block the accounts as the propaganda generated by them not only was far from reality but was aimed at provoking tensions and instigating people to revolt against the administration.
For instance, they said, one of the pictures uploaded on the account showed a rally being taken out on Day 4, while as it was taken out on Day 1, while the fact was that situation had normalized by Day 4. Some of the accounts showed rally pictures of other States describing them as ongoing protests in Doda.
When approached for comments, DIG Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban Range Sridhar Patil told the Excelsior that strict vigil was maintained on Social Media Accounts by the IT Cells of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts and they did yeoman’s job to identify accounts spreading hatred and false propaganda on Doda situation.
“Action as warranted under law has been taken/initiated against Social Media accounts involved in spreading fake messages,” Patil said.
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