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| Kashmir fertile ground for rumour mongering | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, July 14: Kashmir has always been a fertile ground for rumors as history is a witness to many instances where rumors drove the valleyites to despair.
In social media it has found a suitable ally that gives a rumour wings like never before. Yet, the government has failed to come up with a policy to regulate social media despite several attempts to do so.
In 2017, the government came up with a directive banning social sites in the valley to prevent rumour mongering, but the order was soon rescinded as VPNs allowed access to the banned sites.
The intention behind the order was to prevent a repeat of rumour mongering that fuelled unrest during the previous summer. Earlier in January 2016, hordes of panic-stricken parents ran berserk, rushing their children to the nearby hospitals for check-up. Rumours had spread on facebook and WhatsAapp that infants had died after administration of polio vaccine. In the backdrop of this incident, a circular was issued in Jammu and Kashmir by the district magistrates that mandated the registration of various WhatsApp news groups.
The circular called for every group to be registered with the District Magistrate. The registered groups were also to be monitored by the authority for any acts of provocation and scrutinized. Also, the Group Administrators would be held accountable under law for any such conduct resulting in incidents as per the circular.
The aim of this regulation was to curb the alleged spread of rumours on groups. Yet the regulation only remained on paper.
Last year, the valley witnessed another wave of terror in the form of "braid-chopping". In a bid to catch the braid choppers, many people became victims of mob violence based on mere suspicion and false rumours. Many rumour mongers were arrested, but the practice continues unabated.
To curb the spread of rumours through social networking sites, the authorities have repeatedly suspended the mobile internet services including BSNL in the valley.
The precautionary measure, however, has proved little helpful in stopping the rumour mill on the web. This is evident from a fresh cases witnessed in the beginning of this year.
In March, the J&K Police arrested the administrator of a WhatsApp group in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district for sharing a picture of a shopkeeper on the social media and branding him a militant.
Following investigations, the rumour monger turned out to be an administrator of two WhatsApp groups. An FIR has been registered against the accused and further investigation is underway.
Recently, the residents of North Kashmir's Kupwara district also fell prey to a rumour that a student was killed during law and order situation. Following which the police clarified it was a false news intended to cause fear and alarm in general public.
Police after receiving number of complaints with regards to fake news being circulated on social media that creates chaos and confusion among masses registered a formal case against a Facebook page 'QNS 24×7' under relevant sections and initiated investigation into the issue. The admin of this group was identified as a resident of Gulab Bagh, Zakoora.
In this regard a case was registered at Police Station Kothibagh.
Commenting on this issue, a senior police official said, "Why should everything be left to police? We have already law and order problems to deal with. Let the other departments of the Government also take note of it and work towards addressing the menace of rumor mongering." |
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