Gangsters’ followers on social media under Jhajjar police lens
Ravinder Saini
Jhajjar, february 14
The district police are out on a mission to keep youngsters, especially school and college going students, away from following the social media accounts of criminals and liking their posts and content on Facebook, Instagram etc.
The police said that such content not only promotes criminal activities but also affects youngsters, who are very vulnerable, the most.
Under the mission, the police have identified 50 such youngsters aged between 15 and 20 years, who are either followers of notorious criminals/gangsters or are operating social media accounts in their names with an intention to influence their friends.
Last Friday of every month has been fixed to conduct counselling of all these 50 youngsters to motivate them to not follow social media accounts and like posts of any gangsters. The youngsters belong to various places of Jhajjar district, said a police official associated with the mission.
“It has come to our notice during preliminary investigation into such cases that the gangsters start contacting those youngsters over phone or through social media accounts, who share their posts and comments regularly on Facebook, Instagram, etc. The victims are lured into the gangsters’ world and they prefer to remain in touch with them,” he added.
Jhajjar SP Arpit Jain said the police have been playing a role of guardians for these youngsters who have become addicted to social media and are actively following/liking the criminals’ accounts and their posts. The parents of these youngsters were also called for counselling to inform them of the activities of their children.
“Social media is a big influencer. Many anti-social elements, including criminals, use this platform to influence youths and mislead them and use them for their vested interests. We have conducted at least three rounds of counselling and a big change has been witnessed among the victims,” the SP said.
He added that besides the youngsters and their parents, intellectuals and vigilant citizens are also called during counselling sessions to make them aware of this prevalent trend in social media.
Gangsters contacting youngsters
Many anti-social elements, including criminals, use this platform to influence youth and mislead them and use them for their vested interests — Arpit Jain, SP
