Posting social media content that promotes disharmony will soon be criminalised in J&K: DGP

Jammu: Posting any content on social media that promotes disharmony will be a criminal offence in Jammu and Kashmir, DGP R R Swain said on Thursday.

A new provision under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) will be introduced into the effect, the J&K director general of police said.

Posting such messages or videos by “terrorists, separatists or anti-national elements” will be a crime, Swain said.

"Under (Section)144 CrPC, we have decided to bring a law on the posting of any type of content – message, video, audio – which will instigate communal disharmony and terrorise or threaten anyone.

“Whether they are terrorists, separatists, or anti-national elements, posting such messages and videos will be a crime as per the law," Swain told reporters in Jammu.

The DGP said before the law is enacted it will be placed in the public domain for feedback.

He added that those forwarding and sharing such content will also face legal consequences. Swain urged people to report such content to the nearest police station.

"People who post videos, including those aimed to harm the respect of the Prophet (Muhammad), and those who forward it will be committing a crime," he stated.

“We will index such people, ensuring they face disadvantages for having done such a thing,” Swain said.

Highlighting the “disruptive impact” of such content, the DGP said it causes “fear” that leads to the closure of colleges and schools.

Swain said that Pakistani social media handles generate and post content that are “shared by some elements locally to create trouble and harm peace”.

He said that the police would work with the people of Kashmir to “isolate such miscreants”.