The Uttarakhand Police, going a step further, now plans to monitor and take note of comments made by persons on social media.
The Bihar Police, in a fresh order, have warned that persons indulging in criminal activities during law and order incidents, including protest demonstrations and sadak jaam (disruption of road traffic), and are further named in a chargesheet, will not be able to get passports, government jobs, financial grants by the state, or even bank loans, a report by the Indian Express (IE) said.
The Director General of Police issued the order February 1, which says: “All this will be duly mentioned in the Police Verification Report. Such people should be ready for grave consequences.” Nine services have been mentioned in order for which police verification is required: arms license, passport, character certificate, contractual jobs in government, work contracts in government departments, boards and commissions, licences for petrol pump and gas agency, government assistance or grant, bank loans, and any other purpose where such verification is sought.
The Uttarakhand Police, going a step further, now plans to monitor and take note of comments made by persons on social media. Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar, at a conference of police officers Tuesday, asked the police to maintain a record of people making “anti-national” or “anti-social” posts on social media, with screenshots as evidence.
“Earlier, only FIR was checked, but now a person’s behaviour on social media will also be checked,” he added.
Those identified as such would see the police not signing off on their so-called police verification — mandatorily required for passports or arms licences.
When contacted by the IE, he said: “ First, an opportunity will be provided to a person when he makes any such posts by way of counselling. But if a person does not mend his ways, a record of his posts will be maintained. No amendment in any law or rule will be required to start mentioning ‘anti-national’ posts in the police verification.”
Ashok Kumar, when questioned that what kind of comments will be considered anti-national, said, “Whoever is writing against national unity and integrity, that is anti-national.”
The Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, slammed the order comparing it to the regime of Hitler and Mussolini.
“Nitish Kumar is offering a challenge to Hitler and Mussolini by ordering that any protest against the government and exercising one’s democratic rights can deprive one of a government job. It means that the government would neither give jobs nor allow one to lodge protest,” he said in a tweet.
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