Social media posts trigger 7 riots in a month in West Bengal
The latest communal disruption in Baduria, North 24 Paraganas district, about 60 km from Kolkata, last Sunday is yet another grim reminder of how the social media has become an agent provocateur for social discord. And if the official statistic with the state police administration is any indication, the truth is that there had been as many as seven communal flare-ups in the past one month in West Bengal (WB) - all triggered by social media posts.
The latest one, on July 2, a “blasphemous” post in Facebook by a 17-year-old boy triggered a communal riot in Baduria leading to the death of an RSS worker, which left around 25 people, including 20 policemen, injured. The irate mob torched around 12 police vehicles, looted and ransacked several houses in the area. A few days before this incident, another “offensive” post by a teenager in an instant messaging platform kept the local administration on its toes at Mohammad Bazar in Birbhum.
There was another incident on June 14, this time by a school teacher at Harishchandrapur in Malda that sparked tension in the area. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, during her media conference over her differences with the state Governor on Tuesday, touched upon to this trend. “It has become a design to use the social media platform to foment trouble and create instability in the state.”
As she searched for solutions, a proposal was mooted to set up as many as 60,000 booth level “peace committees” on a permanent basis to deal with such incidents. She also suggested that these committees would have members from all religious communities - this would be West Bengal government’s Quick Response Team (QRT) for the future, it was suggested.
The government has also set up a cyber-surveillance team to put a check on such activities. The IT Act will be imposed against the offenders, said sources familiar with the matter. The government has also decided to snap internet facilities immediately, if such a situation arises in any part of the state.
Speaking to ET, Anuj Sharma, ADG, Law and Order, said, “We will take strong action against those who would post or share such contents on social media that are detrimental to communal harmony and peace.”
A video clip of Bengal DG, Surajit Kar Purkayastha, appealing to the masses to be responsible and not share or pay heed to any such post is being circulated by the government. The Kolkata Police officials were directed to launch an awareness campaign to sensitize people.
“Every month, we receive at least 300 complaints of people uploading sensitive content. We track the users and try to find their origin, and there’s a dedicated team that cleans such posts. We have also zeroed in on a Bangladeshi blogger who has taken shelter in Bengal - he often posts such blasphemous content. Apart from that, there are many WhatsApp groups where videos, audios and images of rioting are being circulated. Action will also be taken against such groups,” said a senior police official.
Source: The Economic Times
